Sabrina's Quest
by AndrewK9000
Summary: After coming home from meeting her evil twin, Sabrina finds that she's been Chosen to save the universe from an ultimate evil. She and her friends journey to The Spiral, where they meet may friends, make enemies, experience wonders and face many horrors.
1. Chapter 1: The Summons to Adventure

Greetings fellow readers and writers! You're in for something different now! Okay, for a long time now I've been doing Kingdom Hearts crossovers, with the occasional Harry Potter fic. But now this author is delving into uncharted waters, all to bring you a tale of fantastic comedy. This story will be my first in the realm of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, one of my favorite shows from a while back, as well as Wizard101, which IMHO is the best MMORPG ever. All the fans of Halo and World of Warcraft can say that those games are the best, but I like Wizard101 the best.

Now, this story involved players from Wizard101, including myself. All of them have given me their permission to use their characters in this story, and for that I wish to say thanks to all of you.

In terms of everyone's favorite young witch, this story takes place between season 3 and 4, right after Sabrina solved the Spellman family secret, got her witches license and met her evil twin Katrina, but before the start of her senior year at school.

Also in this story there'll be guest appearances by the heroes of several anime's. I won't say who will come or when they'll come, but they'll be there.

One more thing. Each chapter will end in a cliffhanger, giving the whole story the atmosphere of a thrilling adventure, like Doctor Who. It'll still be funny but also exciting.

Now I don't own Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Wizard101 or any of the anime that'll be in this story, so please don't sue me, I'm just trying to tell a good story.

And now, without further delay, please enjoy….

**Sabrina's Quest**

**By AndrewK9000**

**Chapter 1: The Summons to Adventure**

"I can't believe Valerie moved to Alaska," said Sabrina as she and Harvey sat at their usual spot in The Slicery, "what possible reason would her parents have for just packing up and moving to the other side of the continent? On the roof of the world no less."

"I heard that Valerie's dad got a really lucrative job offer in Anchorage," said Harvey, "managing oil rigs."

"That's still no excuse," said Sabrina, "did he have to drag Valerie up there with hin? Alaska's terrible. It's so cold all the time."

"It can't be that bad," said Harvey.

"Trust me," said Sabrina, "it is."

As if like clockwork, Libby walked over, her usual smug expression visible for all to see, "and how would you know that, Sabrina?" she asked, "you sound like you know from experience."

"Uh…," said Sabrina, "let's just say that I know people who travel. And why are you here, Libby? Don't you have other people to torment?"

"They're scheduled in," said Libby, "anyway, I just want to say that I'm sorry that Valerie moved."

"You are?" Sabrina and Harvey both asked.

"Of course," said Valerie, "one less freak for me to work with."

"Takes one to know one," said a familiar voice from behind Libby.

"Excuse me?" said an irate Libby as she turned around, "just who do you think…?" but she was struck speechless as she realized who it was that dared to insult her.

Sabrina and Harvey were also shocked, but they were overjoyed by who it was, "Jenny!" Sabrina exclaimed happily.

Yes, it was Jenny Kelley, Sabrina's first friend when she started at Westbridge High. "It's me, alright," said Jenny.

"Oh my gosh!" said Sabrina as she shot up from her chair, pushed Libby aside and hugged Jenny, "it's so good to see you! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too," said Jenny as she hugged Sabrina back, "San Francisco was so lonely."

"Do I get a hug too?" Harvey asked as she stood up with his arms spread.

"Absolutely!" said Jenny as she hugged Harvey. She then sat down at the table with Harvey and Sabrina.

"So how long have you been back?" Harvey asked.

"Just got in an hour ago," said Jenny, "and guess what? I'm staying the whole summer!"

"That's so awesome!" said Sabrina.

"Just like old times!" said Harvey.

"Oh great," said Libby in an annoyed tone, "one freak leaves, only to be replaced by the prodigal freak."

At that Jenny looked like she wanted to punch Libby in the face. She stood up and faced Libby, while taking out from her pocket a pair of reading glasses and put them on, "you know, Libby, I learned a lot on the West Coast. I've seen a lot of things and experienced a lot, epically when I visited the Haight-Ashbury district and spent a few months as a hippy."

"You? A hippy?" Jenny asked, "not even the freak queen here," she indicated Sabrina, "would stoop that low."

"You'd be surprised," said Sabrina as she grinned at the memory of when she made a Time Ball and Salem ate it, causing everyone in Westbridge to go back to the 60's.

"Say what you want, Libby," said Jenny, "but your insults and airs only serve to hide your own inner rottenness."

"What does that mean?" Libby asked.

"It means that you're nothing but a big phony," said Jenny, "that all that you do to make others miserable and make yourself feel like the queen of the world, it means nothing, not in the long run. Someday it'll call come back to you and you'll realize just how worthless you've made yourself. So you can take your insults and eat them!"

At that Libby was struck speechless. She tried to come up with a snappy comeback, but all she could say was, "Freaks!" and she stubbornly walked back to the table where her fellow cheerleaders were waiting for her.

"Wow," said Harvey.

"Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" Sabrina asked Jenny.

Jenny took off her glasses and smiled at Sabrina, "it's still me, just a little different."

"I'll say," said Harvey as they all sat down again, "what happened to you in San Francisco?"

"A lot," said Jenny, "partly I had to get reading glasses, which is a good thing because over Christmas, I read a lot of good books, including Atlas Shrugged and Catcher in the Rye. Those books made me realized that I can stand up for myself and not have to take any crud from someone like Libby. But other than that I'm still the same."

"Wish the same could be said for me," said Harvey, "I thought things would get better once mom had the baby, but it's not."

"Oh that's right," said a happily smiling Jenny, "I did hear that you've got a new sister. That's so cool!"

"It is cool, sort of," said Harvey, "but sometimes little Unna keeps everyone up all night, and believe me, you don't want to know how bad it can get."

"I think I can imagine it," said Jenny, "so, Sabrina, what sort of wild and crazy stuff have you been through while I was gone?"

For an instant Sabrina was tempted to tell Jenny everything that happened over the past two years, from studying for her Witches License to solving the family secret, all leading to her meeting and nearly being killed by her evil twin Katrina. That last part was something Sabrina wished she could forget, and who would want to remember being pushed into a volcano by ones own twin?

But Sabrina held her tongue, not just because to tell Jenny everything would bring down on them the wrath of the Witches council, but also because it might be hurtful for Jenny. Sabrina found it hard to forget the time when Jenny accidentally went to the Other Realm and got turned into a grasshopper by Drell. Yes, that was one memory she wished she could get rid of.

"Oh, you know me," said Sabrina, "I like the quiet, dull life," but then before she could stop herself, "oh, and Mr. Kraft dated my Aunts."

"You're kidding!" said a shocked Jenny, "which one?"

"Both of them," said Harvey.

"You're not helping," said Sabrina, "it's not funny, Jenny. Well, it is, but only on one level. On another it's horrible. At first it was Aunt Hilda, but they broke up and now Mr. Kraft is, in his own worlds, 'going steady' with Aunt Zelda. And for a wile we were all scared that they were all going to get married."

"Oh that's just gross," said Jenny, "can you imagine if he moves in with you?"

"Oh god no!" said Sabrina, "we had him over for a while, it was horrible!" She looked at Harvey, "let's tell her some good news. It'll give me the chance to get the horrible images out of my head."

"Oh we've got more than good news," said Harvey as he and Sabrina held hands and the both smiled happily.

"Oh my god," said a shocked yet happy Jenny, "are you two…you know…engaged?"

"Not yet," said Sabrina, "but we did proclaimed our love for each other."

"It was kinda weird how it happened," said Harvey, "I went to Sabrina's house to pick her up for our date, and I just said that I loved her, right there on the front porch. But something was wrong with her voice, and I kinda got upset that she couldn't talk. I thought she didn't love me and I left."

"But you came back," said Sabrina as she adoringly clung to his arm and leaned her head on his shoulder, "my brave hero."

"Yeah, that's the weird part," said Harvey, "I really don't remember what happened after I came back. I have been having a lot of weird moments for a while. Anyway, the next thin I knew, Sabrina told me she loved me."

"And the rest is history," said Sabrina.

"That's so awesome that you two are together," said Jenny, "you know, I sort of had a feeling that you two would make a great couple, kinda like soul mates."

"Of course," said Libby as she walked back over, "you deserve each other; freaks attract freaks."

"This coming from someone who's been trying to grab Harvey for herself ever since I moved to Westbridge?" Sabrina asked.

"I know a lost cause when I see one," said Libby as she idly looked at her perfectly manicured nails.

"Then why don't you just crawl back into your hole and stay there?" said Jenny as she took out her reading glasses again and put them on, "you know what you are, Libby Chessler? You're a parasite."

"I'm a what?" Libby snapped, "what did you call me?"

"I called you a parasite," said Jenny as she stood up and defiantly glared at Libby, "you make those around you feel miserable and you feed off of that misery; it makes you feel powerful, like it was a drug, but regardless of the effect, you're still a parasite. And you know what they do with parasites?"

"Uh…" said Libby, "they…let them do whatever they want?"

"No," said Jenny, "they kill parasites. If you found that you had a tapeworm inside of you, sucking the life from your body, you'd do what have to be done to get rid of it. And you're just like a parasite, Libby, you drain the life of those around others. Sure, you don't physically hurt anyone, but you take away their will to live, bit by bit, just a like a parasite."

"I'm not a parasite!" said Libby, "and I'm certainly not a tapeworm!" With that she ran out of the restaurant.

Sabrina then realized that she had her finger raised halfway, ready to turn Libby into a tapeworm, but she stopped herself just in time. Chances were that, now that she had her witches license, the change would be permanent, and the last thing she wanted was to get in any more trouble. But then again, trouble always had a way of finding Sabrina when she least expected, and what was about to happen to her was no exception.

"Wow," said Harvey again, "you really are different, Jenny."

"I'm just taking my life in a different direction," said Jenny as she took her glasses off.

"Remind me to introduce you to my friend Valerie," said Sabrina, "I'm sure the two of you would have a lot to learn from each other."

"I'm sure Valerie will learn more than you will, Jenny," said Harvey.

"I'm sure," said Jenny. They all laughed.

They spent the rest of the afternoon talking, catching up with each other's escapades and remembering old times. But then it was time for Sabrina to head back home, "I told Aunt Zelda I'd start my summer reading list today."

"I can't believe Mr. Kraft is making us all read War and Peace," said Harvey, "that book is so long and boring."

"Not as long as Atlas Shrugged," said Jenny, "but it didn't take me too long. You really should read that book; it's got a lot of good ideas in it about what's right and wrong."

"I'll put it on my to do list," said Sabrina. Anyway, it's awesome that you're back, Jenny, and we've got the whole summer to enjoy."

"That's the idea," said Jenny, "and you can fill me on how you and Harvey got together."

"I'd be my pleasure to give all the juicy details," said Sabrina.

"And you'll have to tell me everything about your trip to Hawaii," said Jenny, "I'll bet it was so cool there."

"Yeah, cool," said Sabrina in a slightly uncomfortable tone, "and hot, really hot." Like she could ever forget that her evil twin Katrina pushed her into an active volcano, "well, see you later!"

A short time later found Sabrina back home. She found Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda and Salem in the kitchen, "I've got the best news!"

"The Great Pumpkin is making an appearance this Halloween?" Salem asked, "if he is tell him I'm looking for him; that deadbeat owes me $50."

"No he's not," said Aunt Zelda, "the last time The Great Pumpkin came to the mortal realm, it caused a great panic in 1938."

"I thought that was Orson Wells fault," said Sabrina.

"He only took the blame because he wanted the publicity," said Aunt Hilda.

"And yet another historical fact turned upside down due to magic," said Sabrina, "anyway, Jenny's back for the summer."

"That's wonderful," said Aunt Zelda, "I hope you two have loads of fun together."

"Just keep her away from the closet," said Aunt Hilda, "I don't think Drell's going to let us change her back from a grasshopper again."

"I fully intend to keep my friends out of the other realm," said Sabrina as she sat down and grabbed an apple, "you know, I have a good feeling about this summer. I mean, I know that Valerie's in Alaska, but when I last talked to her she sounded like she was alright and insisted that I have fun, so I'm going to take her advice and make this the best summer vacation ever."

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions so hastily," said Aunt Zelda, "you have your Witches License now, and sometimes when a witch initially gets her license, there's a brief but horrible period of bad luck."

"Really?" Sabrina asked hesitantly, "what happened when you got yours?"

"Well," said Aunt Zelda, "when I received my witches's license, nearly everyone in the immediate family; that means Hilda, your father, all your aunts, uncles and cousins, they all broke their legs at the same time."

"And mine caused a city to catch on fire," said Aunt Hilda, "don't ask me which one, it's too painful to remember."

"I think I can guess," said Sabrina, "what about you, Salem? What manner of mayhem did you cause when you got your witches license?"

"I never caused any mayhem when I got my license," said Salem, "if you have to know, I actually had a run of good luck."

"Oh really?" Aunt Hilda asked, "I remember a certain earthquake that happened when you got your license."

"That was a coincidence," said Salem, "it was never proven that I had anything to do with it."

Just then a letter popped out of the other realm toaster.

"Uh-oh!" said Salem as he saw the letter, "it's black."

"Oh no!" said Aunt Hilda.

"It's a summons to appear before the witches council," said a nervous Aunt Zelda as he hesitantly picked up the letter and looked at it; indeed the envelope was black and addressed in red ink, "and it's addressed to Sabrina!"

"What did I do this time?" Sabrina asked as she walked over to Aunt Zelda, "I haven't used my magic for anything selfish since I got my license, not today anyway," she looked up in a thoughtful, "although I was tempted to turn Libby into a tapeworm."

"I wouldn't recommend following through on that ever," said Salem, "tapeworm spells can get a bit messy."

"And you would know that how?" Sabrina asked.

"Let's just say that you're not the only one who had snobby enemies in school," said Salem.

"You'll have to tell me about it sometime," said Sabrina, "but what's this about this letter?"

"You're not in trouble," said Aunt Zelda, "now that you have your license, every now and then the witches council will call on you to do certain tasks."

"Oh, like community service?" Sabrina asked as she took the letter from Aunt Zelda.

"More like jury duty," said Aunt Hilda, "but a lot more dangerous. This letter is a summons for a Quest."

"Quest?" Sabrina asked, "like in that Monty Python movie with the Holy Grail?"

"Yes," said Aunt Zelda, "but much more epic, and certainly not as funny."

"Most of the time they're errands that the witches council are too lazy to do themselves," said Aunt Hilda, "this one time, I had to go to a world full of giant psychic spiders that can take control of your mind, all because Drell wanted some of their silk for a new suit," she paused in a thoughtful manner, "that was the last straw that caused us to break up."

"And here I thought it was just bad chemistry," said Salem.

"I hear that cat fur is the new black in the other realm," said Aunt Hilda, "especially black cat fir."

"Oh please," said Salem in a whimpering manner, "not my precious fur, it's the only skin I've got."

"Nobody is getting skinned," said Aunt Zelda.

"Oh come on," said Aunt Hilda in a teasing manner, "I know so many ways to skin a cat."

"How many are there?" Sabrina asked.

"Unofficially," said Aunt Hilda, "216."

At that Salem gulped fearfully.

"No one is getting skinned," Aunt Zelda insisted, "and that's final. And you'd better open that letter, Sabrina. Ignoring a summons for a Quest could lead to serious consequences."

"They could suspend your witches license and make you do the Quest without magic," said Aunt Hilda.

"Oh, in that case," said Sabrina, "I might as well do whatever childish thing Drell wants me to do," she opened the envelope and took the actual letter out; it was written on black parchment and penned in red ink, "it says I've been selected to be The Chosen One."

"What!" exclaimed Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda and Salem at once.

"This can't be right!" said Aunt Zelda in a frantic tone as she grabbed the letter from Sabrina's hand, "there has to be some sort of mistake!"

"Has it been a hundred years already?" Aunt Hilda asked in an equally frantic manner.

"It's the last year in the century," said Salem, "but I thought they were gonna wait until the very end before they have the lottery."

"What lottery?" Sabrina asked, "and why am I this Chosen One?"

"We've got to go to the witches council," said Aunt Zelda, "we have to convince them to choose someone else."

"They just can't choose Sabrina," said Aunt Hilda, "she just got her license. We have to make them pick someone else!"

"Can someone explain this to someone who has absolutely no idea what you're talking about?" Sabrina asked.

"We'll explain after we've all talked to the witches council," said Aunt Zelda, "and we have to go now, before it's too late."

"What's too late?" Sabrina asked as they hurried up the stairs to the linen closet.

"It'd take too long to explain," said Aunt Zelda.

"And why is Salem coming with us?" Sabrina asked.

"Because I don't want to see you go off on a suicide mission," said Salem as he leapt into Aunt Hilda's arms.

"We're trying to keep you from going on a Quest that's an almost certain death sentence," said Aunt Hilda.

"We'd better let Ted know as soon as we get to the other realm," said Aunt Zelda, "if anyone can convince the council to choose another, it's Sabrina's father."

They all went into the closet, closed the door and with a flash of lightning and thunder, they were in the Other Realm. It didn't take them long for the three witches and cat to arrive in the hall of the Witches Council.

"I tried to reach Ted," said Aunt Zelda as they all waited for the council to acknowledge them and let them speak, "all I got was his answering service."

"I hope you left a very urgent message," said Aunt Hilda, "this is as serious as it gets."

"What's serious?" Sabrina asked, "someone please tell me what's going on? I'm starting to get worried."

"Believe me," said Salem, "you should be worried, be very worried."

Just then Drell zapped himself next to Aunt Hilda, "oh, there's nothing to worry about," said the flamboyant head of the Witches Council, "it's just a little errand to distant reaches of the Other Realm."

"You know damn well that it's not that simple!" snapped Aunt Zelda, "Drell, you have to make the council Choose someone else."

"Sabrina just got her license!" said Aunt Hilda, "you can't honestly expect us to believe that the lottery Chose her. It has to be a mistake! It has to be!"

"I knew you missed me, Hilda," said Drell, "rumor has it that you've been dating a lot of mortals lately, and that you're hung up about your sister dating a specific mortal; a vice principal of a high school no less," he looked at Aunt Zelda, "how's that working out for you?"

"It's dreadful," said Salem, "they're all lovey dovey all the time."

"And Mr. Kraft so annoying even when Aunt Zelda isn't there," said Sabrina.

"And he has a pet name for Zelda," said Aunt Hilda, "Zuzu."

"Yeesh," said Drell, "I'm glad I heard about it second hand."

"Leave Willard out of this!" said an annoyed Aunt Zelda, "and can we please get back to the more important matter at hand?"

"And what would that be?" Drell asked.

"The one where my aunts think I'm in horrible danger," said Sabrina, "and their loving niece has absolutely no clue about what it's all about. Just what's going on, Drell? Do you need me to go get some rare chocolates from a predator infested rainforest on an alien world or something like that?"

"No," said Drell, "but that would be nice. But you will be doing a lot of traveling. Oh, I nearly forgot," he zapped in a red envelop, the kind that held a birthday card, "this is from everyone on the Witches Council," he handed it to Sabrina, "congratulations on solving your family's secret and getting your license."

Sabrina opened the card and laughed at the corny joke, but then saw that there were three red coupons in it, the same coupons that her Quiz Master gave her last Friday the 13th, "good for one hour's worth of spells on any three mortals. That's awesome. But seriously, what is it that the council wants me to do?"

"You're not doing anything for them," said Aunt Hilda.

"How can I say no if I don't know what I'm supposed to do?" Sabrina asked.

Just then a man in his mid 50's with graying black hair and wearing green and white robes and bluish-green trousers, a green and yellow hat and carrying a tall, ornately carved wooden staff, popped in with a shower of greenish yellow sparks, "I can answer that, young lady."

"I don't believe it!" said a shocked Salem, "Richard? I thought you were dead!"

"And I heard that you were polymorphed into a cat for trying to take over your world, Salem Saberhagen," said the man, Richard, "I warned you that ambition would be your downfall."

He looked at Sabrina, "I'm sure you have far too many unanswered questions, Sabrina Spellman. I am Richard Greenspear, and I am a Wizard."

"A Wizard?" Sabrina asked, "is that like a witch?"

"Both are magic users," said Richard Greenspear, "but where as witches and warlocks cast spells with words and their hands," he held up his wooden walking stick, "Wizards use wands and staff to practice their arts. I promise I'll explain more about Wizards and where I come from, but there's very little time and I have so much more to explain about your Quest."

"She's not going!" aunt Zelda insisted, "the last time this happened, the Chosen One was killed."

"You don't have to remind me, Zelda," said Richard Greenspear in a serious tone, "my own brother was on that Quest, and he died as well." He looked at Sabrina, "everything will be made clear to you, but first thing's first," he tapped his staff on the floor and with a green flash of magic, several comfortable chairs and a table with a large tea service appeared around Sabrina and the others, "we might as well make ourselves comfortable."

"Do I detect the sweet aroma of kippers and chopped liver?" Salem asked.

"And all the other goodies that you love," said Richard Greenspear as he, Sabrina and the others sat down and he helped himself to a cup of tea, "now, to begin.

"Sabrina, this Quest you've been Chosen to complete has it's origins in the distant past. Approximately 10,000 years ago things in the other realm were very different from what they are now. This was before Drell here seized power and made an ass of himself in the eyes of a lot of magic users."

"But I'm still on top," said Drell, "I keep getting reelected."

"Only because you either bribe or threaten the voters," said Richard, "but I digress. Anyway, this story involves a young warlock who believed very much like Saberhagen here, that magic should be used to rule not only his world, but all worlds."

"And yet I got caught," said Salem.

"As did the foolish warlock from long ago," said Richard, "the witches council of then hadn't adopted the punishment of turning criminals into animals, but instead stripped him of his magic and banished him to the outer reaches of the other realm. But they also took away his name."

"They gave him amnesia?" Sabrina asked.

"Not in those words," said Richard, "not only did they take away his surname, but also his true name."

"A true name is the absolute true identity of a person," said Aunt Hilda, "or just about anything."

"True names carry great power," said Aunt Zelda, "if you can learn the true name of someone, you can control that person to the point that that person would do just about anything you asked him or her."

"So if learned Libby's true name," said Sabrina, "not that I would want anything to do with it, I could make her be nice to everyone?"

"You could even make her into a apprentice of Mother Teresa," said Salem, "and that's saying something."

"Fortunately the art of learning true names of other magic users and mortals has long been made forbidden," said Richard, "and for good reason. Atlantis was destroyed because too many true names were invoked. But I digress.

"The warlock in question was banished; powerless and nameless, he was cast out into the wilderness of the other realm and forgotten. But like bad coins, he came back.

"He returned with new powers, dark powers, and with a new name, a name that to this day frightens any witch or warlock who hears it," he then whispered, "Diabolic."

Sabrina then saw Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Salem and Drell all shudder, as if someone walked on their graves.

"So what did this warlock, this Diabolic do?" Sabrina asked.

"He had the power to summon the most vile of creatures," said Richard, "demons and monsters from the darkest reaches of existence. He also had a small army of witches and warlocks who gave their loyalties to the dark one. Most of them were those who were with him when he first tried to take over, while others were recent converts.

"It took everything the witches council had to hold back Diabolic, and even that wasn't enough to stop his wickedness from spilling over onto the mortal realms and into other worlds. Great calamites inflicted many worlds, sometimes even destroying them. It was fortunate that the many parallel Earths were spared the worst of the darkness.

"Yet in the end Diabolic overpowered the council. He was one step away from assuming total power; power which would have made him a living god. But there was one who had what it took to stop him.

"She was a witch, not much older than you are. Her name was Serena Starbright, and she was a genius at crafting magical items. A lot of her items still exist today, some of them in private collections, others in museums.

"Anyway, Serena crafted five talismans of incredible power, and she and her four friends, three warlocks and another witch, they used the talismans to break Diabolic's powers. All his summoned monsters and demons were vanquished and the majority of his followers were either captured or killed. But the main villain wasn't killed. Rather, he fled and vowed revenge.

"Time past and as the other realm cleaned up the damage from the war, an extensive search went on for Diabolic, yet there was no sign of him.

"After hundreds of years the search was called off and Serena and her friends settled down and lived out their lives. The five talismans were placed in a museum and all but forgotten.

"But forgotten forever they weren't. Five thousand years after the battle, Diabolic returned with his powers restored and a new army of followers and minions. Again, the combined powers of the witches council could only slow him down. Once again it seemed that Diabolic would rule all. But once again an unlikely hero came forward. A half mortal warlock discovered the talismans in a forgotten corner of a museum and used them to break Diabolic's powers. He was defeated, but not destroyed."

"I'm starting to dislike this Diabolic," said Sabrina.

"You're going to come to hate him soon enough," said Richard, "anyway, once again a search for the defeated Diabolic turned up fruitless. This time around the council wasn't taking chances and they made sure that the talismans weren't lost, so when Diabolic returned again, this time only after 2,500 years, they were ready for him. Diabolic was banished in less than a day. But again he evaded capture.

"He returned yet again after only 1,500 years, making this incident roughly around 1000 AD. But this time things were different. Diabolic had a different plan in mind. When the hero who wielded the talismans performed the magic to break Diabolic's powers, the dark one cast a spell at the last second. His powers were broken, but the wielder of the talismans was slain and the talismans themselves were scattered to the far reaches of the other realm.

"It took the council 100 years to find the talismans, and just in time, for Diabolic returned. The one who found the talismans confronted and defeated Diabolic, but once again the wielder of the talismans was killed and the talismans were scattered. But before the wielder died, he cast a spell that would make it easer for the next chosen wielder to find them. When Diabolic returned, the spell would reveal the locations of the talismans, but not sooner than the next conflict. Others have tried to find the talismans before the appointed time, but none succeeded.

"That's when the lottery for the chosen one was started. Diabolic now had the power to return every 100 years, and every 100 years a witch or warlock was chosen by an impartial lottery to find the talismans, for no one since has ever had the courage to stand and face Diabolic of their own free will.

"And this is where you come in Sabrina Spellman. You became eligible for the lottery shortly after you received your witches license, and that allowed your name to be entered in said lottery. And as luck would have it, your name was picked by the impartial lottery. You, Sabrina Spellman, have been chosen to save the other realm and all of existence from the evil of Diabolic."

At that Sabrina was struck speechless, but Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda had plenty to say.

"She is not going!" said Aunt Zelda, "she's 18 for crying out loud!"

"And he's half mortal," said Aunt Hilda.

"But one of the previous chosen ones was half mortal," said Drell, "and that one didn't die."

"But so many have died," said Aunt Hilda, "including Richard's brother!"

"Charlie Greenspear," said Salem, "I knew him well; a wizard of great talents, and a fantastic chef to boot."

"My brother had his gifts," said Richard, 'but he had his faults; one of which was a lack of knowing when to stop. He went with the last chosen one 100 years ago to find the talismans. He was there at the final battle against Diabolic, and he died with the chosen one. But Charlie made it so that the next hiding place of the talismans would be in a place that those he loved would be able to find them, or at least point the next chosen one in the right direction."

"So where are the talismans now?" Sabrina asked.

"They are located in the worlds where I come from," said Richard, "an area of the other realm called The Spiral." He raised his staff and created an image above the table.

It showed a sea of stars in which sat a spiral of rainbow colored gas. In the middle of the spiral was a world shaped like a large tree. As one followed the path of the spiral outward from the tree world, one found a world that had an Egyptian theme, then one like Victorian-era London, then one like Feudal Japan, and a world that had a city built around volcano with a giant stone dragon on top.

"There are many worlds in The Spiral," said Richard, "but the five main worlds are Wizard City, Krokotopia, Marleybone, Mooshu and Dragonspyre. The five talismans are somewhere on each of these five worlds."

He indicated the tree world in the middle, "that's where I come from, Wizard City. That tree is Bartleby, the World Tree, through which all the worlds of The Spiral can be accessed. Also in Wizard City is the school for wizards; Ravenwood School of Magical Arts. Wizards from all across existence come there to learn from the different aspects of wizard magic."

"There's different aspects of magic?" Sabrina asked, "and how is wizard magic different from Witch magic.

"It's very different," said Richard, "as you know, witches use incantations to cast spells. On the other hand," he pulled out from his pocket a deck of elaborately crafted cards, "wizards use cards to cast spells. Cards use energy that we call Mana, combined with a different energy called Pips" he pulled from the deck a card that looked like a hand casting a beam of light, "this card is a basic Healing card. This particular card can be cast without using mana, but stronger spells need more mana and pips to be cast.

"As for the aspects of magic, there's six different schools taught at Ravenwood. My school is the school of Life. Life magic users are called Theurgists', and we use healing magic for ourselves and others who are in need; be it physical, emotional or spiritual healing. Also we're great musicians. I myself have penned 17 symphonies in my life, where as my great-grandson Andrew, he keeps up with the latest pop culture music, ranging from rock and roll to hip hop to heavy metal."

"You'll learn about all the schools of magic taught at Ravenwood, as well as meet many, many wizards when you get to Wizard City, for that is where the first talisman is located."

"No!" Aunt Zelda insisted, "she's not going!"

"We won't let you send our Sabrina on a suicide mission!" said Aunt Hilda.

"I never said it was a suicide mission," said Richard.

"But were you going to tell her?" Aunt Hilda asked in an accusing manner. She then looked at Drell, "and what about you? Were you going to send Sabrina off to her death without telling her the real danger?"

"I'm just a humble civil servant trying to keep things running," said Drell innocently.

"And I'm the Queen of The Nile," said Salem.

"Can I say something?" Sabrina asked, "this is my life that we're talking about."

"You can say whatever you want, Sabrina," said Aunt Zelda.

"As long as it's 'I'm not going,'" said Aunt Hilda.

"I think I can speak for myself," said Sabrina. "Okay, first of all, I'm not happy that I was put into a lottery without my knowing it. And I'm not happy with this so called impartial lottery. Just how was I chosen?"

"We have a huge Bingo spinner," said Drell, "and each witch or warlock's name is written on a ball, and we have a monkey spin the spinner and draw out the name, and whoever's name is on that ball is The Chosen One."

"Okay, that's one thing," said Sabrina, "second, I never said that I was completely against this."

"But you just can't go!" Salem insisted, "you'll get killed for sure!"

"I somehow feel insulted," said Sabrina, "how can you be so sure that I'll die? I mean, how bad can this Diabolic be?"

Just then there was a huge flash of lightning, black lightning to be exact, and a defining crash of thunder.

"You just had to ask," said Salem as a hurricane-force wind blew through the council room, causing the other council members to scream in terror.

"It's him!" said Richard as he stood up, "Diabolic comes!"

There was a flash of black light and a swirling vortex of dark magic opened up in the middle of the council room, and from that emerged a man wearing a black military uniform with a black mantle cloak. He had deathly pale skin and glowing red eyes and long black hair.

The gathered witches and warlocks of the council backed away from the man in terror.

"My dear Witches Council," said the dark man in a voice that reverberated with evil, "how lovely to see you all again." He then saw Drell, "and here's your fearless leader."

"Ah, yeah," said a visibly fearful Drell, "hi there…Diabolic…how are you?"

"Irate," said Diabolic as he glared at Drell, "very irate now that you are in my presence again, Drell."

"Drell was only a junior member of the witches council when Diabolic was first banished," Aunt Hilda whispered to Sabrina, "but he was the one who called for the vote to banish."

"You're 10,000 years old?" Sabrina asked Drell.

"And loving every second of it," said Drell.

"But there are moments that you regret," said Diabolic, "I'll bet you're sorry that you even thought of sending me away, aren't you Drell."

"You want me to lie to you?" Drell asked.

"I want you to get on your knees and beg for your life, you pathetic worm of a warlock!" snapped Diabolic, "I should turn you into a worm here and now! But I have far more greater torments to inflict on the whole other realm, and the rest of reality, once I have all."

He then looked at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, "ah, the Spellman sisters. Rumor has it that the two of you are infatuated with the same mortal, and a vice principle of a high school no less. How pathetic!"

"You leave Willard out of this!" exclaimed Aunt Zelda, "he and I love each other! Love! Something a monster like you could never understand!"

"And I'm so over Willard," said Aunt Hilda.

"Oh cry me a river," said Diabolic. "Enjoy your triangle with the mortal while you can, for when I'm done, the pitiful emotion of love will no longer exist."

He then set his evil eyes on Salem, "and here we have the warlock who would be dictator of a world. I seem to remember talking with you 100 years ago. I offered you the chance to join me and have your share of ultimate power, yet you chose to strike out on your own."

"You worked with this creep?" Sabrina asked Salem.

"We were…pen pals…" said Salem hesitantly, "I asked him for advice on taking over the world. As it turned out, it wasn't that great of advice."

"I waned you about going alone," said Diabolic, "but you wouldn't listen. And look at you now…a cat for 100 years. Or is 150 years now? I heard that your sentence was extended."

"It's true…" said a now blubbering Salem, "I'm gonna be a cat for 50 more years! And I'm actually used to being a cat!"

"Hey!" said Sabrina, "you can't talk that way to my family!"

"I can do anything I want," said Diabolic, "and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me, and there's certainly nothing a half breed slut like you can do."

"You'd be surprised at what I can do," said Sabrina as she glared defiantly at Diabolic, "after all that I've been through since I got my magic, I think I can handle one insane warlock." For some reason, even though her instincts as a witch were telling her to be terrified of Diabolic, Sabrina felt a surge of courage emanating from her heart. Why she felt this way she didn't know, but she wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Insane!" snapped Diabolic, "Insane! That's what they called me when I was first banished! Drell and those cowards on the Witches Council, they said I was mad, all because I dared to do what they didn't have the guts to do themselves."

"You mean go all crazy and try to take over the universe?" Hilda asked.

"Even I didn't go that far," said Salem.

"I mean that I dared to reach into the darkness and take what was there for the taking," said Diabolic, "but I can see that it's useless to argue with you people," he glared at Sabrina, "I'd rather talk with the young beauty."

"No!" said a frantic Aunt Zelda, "Sabrina, don't listen to anything he tells you!"

"You act like I was trying to sway her to my side," said Diabolic, "I may be mad, yes, I admit that I could possibly be mad, but that's irrelevant. I am implying that I am no moron," he walked around Sabrina, "I can see that this one's heart cannot be turned. I can tell that she faced a great and personal trial recently, one where she questioned her own sense of self."

"Well," said Sabrina, "I did just meet my evil twin, who had everyone convinced that I was the evil one, even me."

"It's true," said Aunt Hilda, "we were all convinced."

"But then Katrina tried to push me into a volcano," said Sabrina, "that's when I knew for sure who I was, both in my mind and heart," she glared defiantly at Diabolic, "I know that I'm on the side of good, so don't even bother trying to get me to join you."

"I said I wasn't trying to get you to join me," said Diabolic, "you don't listen. What I'm trying to do is to get you to do is to simply abandon this futile Quest before you even begin, for to contend with Diabolic is to die."

"I know it'll be dangerous," said Sabrina, "I know that some of those who faced you died, but…"

"Oh," Diabolic interrupted, "you heard that _some _of your predecessors were killed by me. You don't know the half of it."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina asked nervously. For some reason, what Diabolic just said seemed to make Sabrina afraid. She looked at Aunt Hilda and Zelda, "what does he mean by that?"

"You haven't told her?" Diabolic asked as he grinned with vicious glee, "oh, this gets better and better!" He looked at Sabrina, "you know that I've been able to come back every century over the past 1000 years."

"Yeah, so?" Sabrina asked.

"Well what you don't know," said Diabolic, "was that 1000 years ago was what truly happened when I killed the foolish witch sent to oppose me. I already had in place countermeasures that would ensure that I would recover my powers within 100 years, so I could then focus on killing the witch, which I did.

"Sure the waif used the last of her magic to make it easier for her successor to find the talismans, but that was of no concern for me. Though I was forced back into the dark, I still had my powers, and 100 years later I was able to leave the dark. That's when I learned the key to my ultimate triumph!"

He walked into the middle of the room and addressed the Witches Council, "it was then, 900 years ago this day, that I stood in this very council chamber and decreed that if I could kill the next 9 Chosen Ones, the power of the banishing talismans would be broken forever, and I would be free to take my revenge on the other realm and spread the darkness wherever it pleased me."

He then fixed his cold eyes on Sabrina, sending a chill right to her heart, "that was 900 years ago, and I've killed 8 chosen ones since, bringing the total up to nine," he pointed at Sabrina, "and you make ten, my dear Sabrina Spellman, you will be the key to my ultimate victory!"

"Don't listen to him, Sabrina!" said Aunt Zelda.

"He's just trying to scare you!" said Aunt Hilda.

"Be silent!" snapped Diabolic. Although he didn't point his finger, a spell was used anyway, a spell of terrible darkness that Sabrina could feel right down in her heart.

Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda were hit by the curse, their lips glowing with dark red magic. They were apparently unharmed, but when they tried to talk, they were shocked to find that they couldn't speak.

Everyone was then shocked to see a pair of tongues right in front of Salem, "oh come on," he said, "this is lamer than F.D.R.'s legs."

At that Diabolic smirked at Sabrina, "you can see what I can do with just a fraction of a fraction of my power. What I can do with my full magic would give you mind-destroying nightmares."

"Oh," said Sabrina, "well, that just gives me all the more motivation to stop you."

"Haven't you been listening to what I have been telling you?" Diabolic asked, "If you take up this futile Quest, not only will I kill you, but once you are dead, I will be free to do whatever I please."

"But if I don't do it," said Sabrina, "you'll still do what you please, so either way we're in a lot of trouble."

"And you're not the least bit intimidated by my threat of death?" Diabolic asked, "aren't you crushed with hopelessness? Doesn't your heart quail in terror of certain doom?"

"I'm in high school," said Sabrina, "believe me, anything you can throw at me, can't compare to some of the stuff I've been through."

At that Diabolic glared at Sabrina with utmost hate, "so, you've made your choice; the choice of death. So be it. Sabrina Spellman, from this moment on, we are enemies. I will use everything at my disposal; my powers, my minions and allies, and every dirty trick in the book, some of which I wrote by the way, to make your life a living hell.

"And then, when the time is right, when you've lost everything that you care about, all that you love, when your heart has been crushed in fear and despair, that is when I will take your life!"

"Oh really?" Sabrina asked, "well, you're going to find out that my life isn't cheep, so I hope you've got a large bank account."

That caused everyone in the council room laughed, while Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda laughed silently.

"Or better yet," said Sabrina, "you could try bribing me with a car, but then you'll have to talk to my aunts."

At that Aunt Zelda mimed 'Absolutely not!', while Aunt Hilda sighed with exasperation as if saying 'she's on the verge of being killed and she still wants a car.'

"What'd you expect?" Salem asked, "She's a teenager."

"You see," said Sabrina to Diabolic, "looks like my life can't be bought."

"Laugh while you can, little witch," said Diabolic, "you'll find very few humorous moments in the days to come. I'm going to destroy everyone and everything you care about, starting with your family!"

He then zapped one of the columns of the council chamber, blasting it into rubble, which began falling on Salem, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

"NO!" shouted Sabrina…

**To Be Continued**


	2. Chapter 2: Friends and Heroes

**Chapter 2: Friends and Heroes**

At that Diabolic glared at Sabrina with utmost hate, "so, you've made your choice; the choice of death. So be it. Sabrina Spellman, from this moment on, we are enemies. I will use everything at my disposal; my powers, my minions and allies, and every dirty trick in the book, some of which I wrote by the way, to make your life a living hell.

"And then, when the time is right, when you've lost everything that you care about, all that you love, when your heart has been crushed in fear and despair, that is when I will take your life!"

"Oh really?" Sabrina asked, "well, you're going to find out that my life isn't cheep, so I hope you've got a large bank account."

That caused everyone in the council room laughed, while Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda laughed silently.

"Or better yet," said Sabrina, "you could try bribing me with a car, but then you'll have to talk to my aunts."

At that Aunt Zelda mimed 'Absolutely not!', while Aunt Hilda sighed with exasperation as if saying 'she's on the verge of being killed and she still wants a car.'

"What'd you expect?" Salem asked, "She's a teenager."

"You see," said Sabrina to Diabolic, "looks like my life can't be bought."

"Laugh while you can, little witch," said Diabolic, "you'll find very few humorous moments in the days to come. I'm going to destroy everyone and everything you care about, starting with your family!"

He then zapped one of the columns of the council chamber, blasting it into rubble, which began falling on Salem, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

"NO!" shouted Sabrina.

But then a sudden spell made the column rubble vanished, said spell came from the finger of Ted Spellman, Sabrina's father.

"Dad!" said a surprised Sabrina.

"Boy, am I glad to see you," said Salem.

"You weren't the only one in danger," said Ted, while Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda clutched at their frantically beating hearts and tried to calm their breaths.

"But I was also scared," said Salem, "can someone find my poor feline heart? I think I lost one of my lives back there," he began pouting.

"Didn't I hear that you only have one life?" Ted asked as he walked over to his sisters and daughter, "anyway, I got here as soon as I heard that Sabrina was Chosen." He looked at Sabrina, "how are you, sweetheart?"

"Well, aside from being drafted into saving the universe from a psycho warlock and nearly having my aunts and cat crushed to death," said Sabrina, "combined with what happened in Hawaii, I'm doing pretty well, dad."

"That's good," said Ted, "and I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you met Katrina. I could have pointed out the evil twin with my eyes closed," he glared at Drell, "but someone had to make things difficult for my family."

"I told you when you first fell in love with a mortal that it would turn out badly," said Drell in an innocent tone, "but no, you didn't listen. No one ever listens to me when I say that relationships with mortals won't work."

"And I told you time and time again, Drell," said Ted, "I loved Diana, and I still love her in a way. Sure, our marriage didn't work out, but we're still very good friends, even though she's still in Peru and I'm about to move to Paris with Gail."

"In Paris?" Sabrina asked, "oh, you have to let me come and see your new home."

"I'll call you as soon as we're moved in," said Ted. He then held Sabrina by the shoulders, "you've really grown up, and I've missed it. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you when you needed help."

"If you've come every time Sabrina needed help," said Salem, "you'd have to moved in."

"How's the extra 50 years of your sentence working out for you, Salem?" Ted asked.

"Terrible," said an exasperated Salem, "and thanks for reminding me," he started pouting again.

"Either way," said Ted as he looked at Sabrina, "I'm just glad that you finally have your full powers, and even though I couldn't be there for you in the flesh, I'm always with you in heart."

"I know," said Sabrina as she and Ted Hugged, "and I love you dad."

"How sentimental," said a disgusted sounding Diabolic.

At that Aunt Zelda mimed ,'I almost forgot he was there.'

Aunt Hilda then mimed 'If we close our eyes and think happy thoughts, do you think he'll go away?'

"Not likely," said Diabolic, "so, I hear that your choice in women has changed, Ted. Finally you've returned to the fold and married a witch. I'm surprised that you ever had any affections for a mortal in the first place."

"You leave Diana out of this," said Ted, "and you leave Gail out of this as well."

"As I told your daughter," said Diabolic, "I can say anything I want and do anything I want, and there's nothing anyone can do to stop me," he then saw Richard Greenspear, "if you think I'm ignoring you, you are wrong. I haven't forgotten you, Richard, or your brother, Charlie was it? Does it pain you to know that your dear brother died begging for his life, that he spent his final minutes in existence on his knees, pleading with me to spare his life?

"Did you also know that he offered to trade the life of the previous Chosen One for his own? That's right, your dear brother Charlie was prepared to send the Chosen One to her death, all to save his miserable, cowardly, loveless life."

"My brother had more courage in one finger than a dozen other wizard ever had put together," said Richard in a calm and controlled tone, "and he loved Gabrielle, and she loved him back. You'd know all about love and courage if you had any."

"Spare me your pathetic attempts to stir up in me what isn't there," spat Diabolic. He then glared back at Ted, "and what of you, Ted Spellman? It was your friend Gabrielle who was chosen to face me the last time, a friend whom you supposedly loved, but not enough to go with her."

"What is he talking about, Dad?" Sabrina asked.

At that Ted sighed gravely, "I did know the last Chosen One, Sabrina. Her name was Gabrielle Hammershire. She was a witch who's family had connections with ours that go back a long time.

"We were close friends, Gabrielle and I, close enough that we loved each other, and had things turned out differently, I would have asked her to be my wife."

"But they didn't turn out as you hoped!" said Diabolic, "she was Chosen, and you abandoned her in her hour of need."

"I told her that I would go with her to find the talismans," said Ted, "but she didn't want me to come."

"Because she secretly hated you," said Diabolic.

"No!" said an outraged Ted, "it's because she loved me enough to not want me to get hurt. Gabrielle was so selfless that she was prepared to find the talismans all by herself and face you alone, all so no one else had to risk their lives."

"But others did risk their lives," said Diabolic, "and others died for her, before she died in turn! And it broke your heart when you heard she died, Ted, and your heart broke even further when you heard that she fell in love with her traveling companion, Charlie Greenspear."

"Yes," said Ted, "my heart did break when I heard she died, but I didn't let myself drown in despair. I knew she died in the way she wanted to; stopping you from working your evil. And I already knew that she was in love with another.

"And it made you so wrathful that she rejected your so called love," said Diabolic.

"I admit that I was upset that she chose another over me," said Ted, "but I loved Gabrielle enough to let the matter go. I was happy that she found true love, for the short time that it was. I was happy that she was happy, and I'm sure that Gabrielle was here right now, she'd be happy that I chose those whom I was happy with," he looked at Sabrina, "first with your mother, and now with Gail, hopefully this time things will work out for the better."

"Unfortunately we'll never know," said Diabolic, "for I'm going to destroy love forever! I'll even pay a visit to your wives, Ted; first your ex, then your current mate."

"You stay away from Diana and Gail!" snapped Ted, "if you even so much as look at them, I'll…"

"You'll what?" Diabolic asked daringly, "you're going to zap me?"

"Sounds like a plan to my ears!" said Drell as he sent a spell at Diabolic. But the insidious warlock caught the spell with one hand and crushed it out of existence.

"Any more bright ideas, Drell?" Diabolic asked, "no, don't answer that. Instead, just stand still…forever!"

Sabrina then sensed more dark magic at work, although she couldn't see any spell being cast from Diabolic. Before Sabrina's horrified eyes, Drell stiffened and turned into a stone statue.

"Now that's petrifying!" said Salem.

"And that's just a taste of what I'll do to the next one to give me any malarkey," said Diabolic. He then glared at Sabrina again, "I guarantee this, little witch, the next time we meet, you'll be begging for me to end your miserable life!" he then used his dark powers to create another swirling vortex of darkness, "Until then!" he stepped through the vortex and it vanished after him.

The silence that resounded through the council chamber lasted for several seconds, before Salem spoke, "Well…that was…something else."

"I can think of worse things," said Sabrina.

"What can we do to stop this madness?" Ted asked, "is there anything that can be done?"

"You know what has to be done, my friend," said Richard, "you have to let Sabrina complete the Quest, for all our sakes and her own."

"But you heard that dark creep!" said Salem, "he's gonna kill Sabrina!"

"He's going to kill me even if I don't do this," said Sabrina, "so I might as well try."

"Trying isn't enough," said Richard, "Sabrina, if you begin this journey, you must dedicate your full being into it. You are going to need all of your powers, your wits and everything else you can muster up if are going to even have a chance of finding the talismans, let alone defeat Diabolic."

At that Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda furiously mimed their objections to Sabrina going on her Quest.

"Can someone put their tongues back where they belong?" Salem asked, "this joke is getting a little stale."

"I got this," said Sabrina, "I've got my license now after all," she closed her eyes in concentration and raised her finger, "_because it happened to them without their choice, please return to my aunts their stolen voice!_" she pointed her fingers at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, but when her spell hit them, it simply bounced off of them, leaving the two aunts looking both angry and afraid.

"What the…?" a shocked Sabrina asked, "That should have worked!"

"I was afraid this would happen," said Richard, "I should have warned you, Sabrina, your usual magic won't be effective against a spell Diabolic directly cast."

"Oh, well," said Sabrina, "you're right, you should have told me that before I antagonized the big, evil warlock who wants to kill me now."

"You're not completely helpless before him," said Richard, "as I'll explain in a bit. But first, I believe I need to heal your aunts."

"How are you going to do that?" Sabrina asked.

"Just watch, Sabrina," said Ted, "you're about to get your first real taste of Wizard magic."

"Believe me," said Salem, "it's fantastic."

Richard then raised his staff and traced a form in the air, a green spiral leaf pattern made of green magic. The green spiral pattern then burst into two large sparks of green magic that hit Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.

Their tongues then shot back into their mouths, "oh thank god!" said Aunt Zelda.

"I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life as a mime," said Aunt Hilda.

"I'm glad too," said Salem, "all black outfits with all white makeup, not your style, baby!"

"Oh really?" Aunt Zelda asked daringly. She then zapped Salem, turning his face completely white and putting a black barrette and a cat sweater with black and white horizontal stripes on. Aunt Hilda then sapped a mirror in front of him and Salem was shocked at his reflection.

"Oh my god!" said Salem, "I'm French!" he then began speaking in a French accent, "I have zis sudden desire to start smoking, drink outrageously expensive coffee and to make fun of Americans."

"I'll zap you to Paris when Gail and I move in," said Ted.

"Wait," said Sabrina, "what about Drell?"

"What about him?" Aunt Hilda asked.

"Shouldn't we turn him back to normal?" Sabrina asked, "I mean, we can't just leave him as a statue forever, right?"

Aunt Hilda looked at the petrified Drell, "I actually like him better this way."

"Drag him to the park and bring on the pigeons!" said Salem.

"We should turn him back to normal," said Aunt Zelda, "It just wouldn't be right to leave him like this."

Aunt Zelda began chanting, _"he may be the rotten leader of the nation, but it's right to reverse the petrifaction!"_ Her spell hit Drell, but it fizzled on impact.

"Uh-oh!" said Aunt Hilda.

"That should have worked," said a shocked Aunt Zelda.

"That's the power of Diabolic," said Richard, "even the most experienced of witches would find that their normal reversal spells won't work."

"But you can do something about it, right?" Sabrina asked.

"Of course," said Richard, "I'm a Theurgist; healing is what I do." He then raised his staff and traced another spiral-like leaf symbol in the air with green magic. The leaf symbol then hit Drell's stone body and in a flash of green magic he was back to normal.

"Trying to blindside the dark one wasn't one of your smarter moves, Drell," said Richard.

"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time," said Drell.

"Not your best," said Richard, "why don't you go back to your own projects, Drell, and let me handle the rest with Sabrina. After all, you've let others handle the previous Chosen Ones."

"Good point," said Drell. He looked at Sabrina, "good luck, kido, you're going to need it."

"On second thought," said Richard, "I think you should stay for just a bit longer, Drell. I'm sure that you will be needed for one or two things."

"Fine then," said an irritated Drell as he sapped in an E-Z chair and a huge book, "first you don't need me, now you might not need me," he sat down in a huff, "but what about my needs! You know, running the other realm isn't all fun and games! I haven't had a real vacation since the mid 14th century."

"Don't tell anyone I told you this," Richard whispered to Sabrina, "but that was when Drell accidentally caused The Black Death."

"My lips are sealed," said Sabrina. She then spoke aloud, "so, when do I leave to find the talismans?"

"You're not going!" Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Salem and Ted all shouted.

"Yes I am," Sabrina insisted, "if I don't find these talismans, then Diabolic is going to destroy everyone and everything. I have to stop him. If I don't do it, who will?"

"But…but you'll die," said Aunt Zelda.

"I'm dead if I don't go," said Sabrina, "we're all dead if someone doesn't stop Diabolic."

"But you heard what he said," said Ted, "the last nine Chosen Ones were murdered, and you're number 10!"

"I can't believe this," said Sabrina, "you really think I'm going to get killed. Well I'm not! Not after everything that I've been through, both with magic and without."

"We know that you've been through a lot," said Aunt Hilda, "but this isn't like anything you've ever been through."

"Wait," said Aunt Zelda, "we can argue about this until the end of the world, which may not be that far off. So let's settle this in a civilized manner," she zapped in a giant quarter.

"This is your way of settling it civilized?" Sabrina asked.

"At least it'll be settled quickly," said Aunt Zelda as she hefted the oversized coin, "alright…heads, Sabrina goes. Tails, Sabrina stays!" she zapped the coin and it flipped over and over so rapidly it actually caused a breeze in the council room.

The coin fell to the ground and landed heads up.

"Well look at that," said Sabrina in a pleased yet shocked tone, as if the coin landing finalized her destiny, "I guess I'm going to go save the universe."

"How about two out of three?" Aunt Hilda asked.

"No," said Sabrina, "it's okay. I want this now. I have to do this…but…"

"But what?" Aunt Zelda asked.

"I think I know," said Ted, "it's the one thing Gabrielle wanted to do before she left on her Quest, but didn't because she knew it would upset everyone. She wanted to say goodbye to her loved ones."

"Which is why we still need you, Drell," said Richard, "I may have gotten only mediocre grades at Divination, but I predict that Sabrina has some mortals she wishes to talk to before she leaves to save all our lives."

"Yeah," said Sabrina, "that'd be perfect. If I'm going to save the universe, I'd like to say goodbye to my mom. And Harvey and Jenny as well. Oh, it'd be perfect if I could see Valerie again. And i'd really like to say goodbye to my mom."

"Not gonna happen!" said Drell as he shot up from his chair, "just because you're going off on a potential suicide mission doesn't give you the right to break the 'no telling mortals' rule! And that doubly applies to your mother! You see her at all, if you even send her a letter…"

"She'll turn into a ball of wax, I know," said an annoyed Sabrina, "but that was before I got my witches license, and definitely before I was Chosen, before the system you set up, Drell, Chose me, to save your sorry behind."

Sabrina then looked at all the members of the witches council, "I'm doing this to save all of you, the other realm, the mortal realm and everything else. I don't want any special reward, but you'd think that just this once you'd bend the rules and allow me to leave with fond farewells from those I love."

"Yeah, yeah, great speech," said Drell, "listen, Sabrina, I'd be more than happy to let you see your mother and friends, but rules are rules."

Just then one of the council members spoke up, "rules can be bent under unusual circumstances. You know that, Drell."

Another council member spoke up, "Sabrina is putting her life on the line for our sakes, as well as everything else. We should allow her this one request." At that the other members of the council nodded and voiced their agreements. It was as if Sabrina's refusal to give in to Diabolic's terror tactics had given the witches council a boost of courage

"Well I say differently," said Drell.

"And I say we vote on it!" said one of the council.

"I second the motion!" said another member of the council, "all those in favor of allowing Sabrina to see her mother and mortal friends before she goes on her Quest…"

All the members of the council save Drell raised their hands and shouted "Aye!"

"All apposed…"

"Nay!" said Drell, "and as head of the council, I get veto powers."

Just then Richard calmly walked up to Drell and whispered something in Drell's ear, something that made Drell's face go white with shock and anger.

"You wouldn't!" snapped Drell.

"In a heartbeat," said Richard in an annoyed tone, "for the love of god, Drell! Look what you've reduced me to!"

"I think he just threatened to reveal a really embarrassing secret about Drell," said Ted to Sabrina, "but what?"

"I can think of a few of his escapades gone wrong," said Salem, "stuff he would pay dearly to keep away from the ears of the general public."

"You'll have to tell me about a few of them," said Aunt Hilda, "any chance to get some dirt on him is okay with me."

"Meet me by the can opener back home," said Salem, "and I'll tell you everything over tuna."

"It's your choice, Drell," said Richard, "either relent and show some compassion for once in your life, or I'll tell everyone about 'that.'"

"You swore that you would never speak of 'that!'" snapped Drell.

"I said I would keep it till my grave," said Richard, "But since we're all about to be killed by Diabolic, I see no reason to keep the secret."

"You really are a sick man, Richard Greenspear," said Drell, "I knew you had it in you. Alright, Sabrina can see anyone she wants to before she leaves."

"And no special conditions!" said Richard, "Sabrina gets to tell her friends and mother the truth about everything, and I mean everything," he then whispered to Drell, "we can always erase their memories afterwards, assuming we all come out of this in one piece."

"Alright already!" said Drell, "no special conditions either! Just get it over with so Sabrina can go already!"

"This is probably the nicest thing you've ever done," said a smiling Richard. He then looked at Ted, "by all means, bring your ex wife here."

"It'd be my pleasure," said Ted. He then zapped in Diana. Sabrina's mom looked around in confusion, then saw her ex husband.

"Ted?" Diana asked, "what…what's going on? One second I'm on the dig site in Peru, the next…" she looked around again, "why am I in the Witches Council room?" she then saw Drell and looked like she wanted to throw a lethal object at him.

"Drell!" spat Diana, "I should have known you were responsible for this! I ought to clean your clock!"

"How lovely to see you again, Diana," said Drell, "you look absolutely radiant; Peru's done wonders for you."

"Don't try an patronize me!" snapped Diana, "you have no right to do so, not after all that you've done to make me miserable!"

"Just what have I done to make you miserable?" Drell asked.

"Got a pencil?" Diana asked, "first of all, you ruin my marriage. Then you force me to give up Sabrina and send her to her aunts. My daughter, the light of my life! Then you make it so that I can never see her again, and then make it so that I'll turn into a ball of wax if I do see her! If that's not reason enough to be mad at you, I don't know what is!"

She then glared at Ted, "and just why did you bring me here anyway?" She then saw Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, "And why are you here?"

"They're here because of me, mom," said Sabrina, "it's okay, you're not going to turn into a ball of wax today."

At that Diana's face changed from angry, to shocked, to overjoyed within a matter of seconds, "Oh, oh Sabrina!" she embraced her daughter, whom hugged her back, "Oh, my baby girl! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, mom!" said Sabrina, "there's so much that I wanted to talk to you about since last year."

"There's so much I wanted to tell you," said Diana, "tell me, did things work out between you and those two boys? Tell me! Who did you pick; Harvey or Dashiell?"

"Harvey," said Sabrina, "and I'm glad I did; the other Friday, we told each other that we love each other."

At that Diana hugged Sabrina again "my little girl has found love! I'm so happy!"

"Could we move this along?" Drell asked, "there's a lot to do before Sabrina goes off to save the universe from eternal darkness."

"What is he talking about?" Diana asked, "Sabrina, what's going on?"

"I'll explain everything in a bit, mom," said Sabrina, "but we need to wait for my friends to get here."

"I'll zap them in right now," said Aunt Hilda. Two seconds later Harvey and Jenny appeared in duo puffs of smoke.

"Sabrina?" an understandably confused Harvey asked, "what's going on?"

"Oh my god!" said a shocked Jenny, "Sabrina, this is just like that dream I had when I slept over at your aunts house." She then saw Drell and looked like she had just seen the devil, "oh no! It's not a dream, it's a nightmare! Don't turn me into a grasshopper again!"

"Jenny!" said Sabrina as she tried to calm her friend down, "it's okay!"

"It's not okay!" said a frantic Jenny.

"You sure this was a good idea?" Salem asked.

"It's what Sabrina wanted," said Aunt Zelda.

"Hey, wait a second," said Harvey as he looked at Salem, "either I'm also dreaming, or the cat just talked."

"Not only can I talk," said Salem, "I can also sing, pretty darn good actually."

"Whoa!" said Harvey, "now I know I'm dreaming. I kinda remember the two of us talking about action movies while Sabrina was on vacation in Hawaii."

"And we still haven't gotten around to watching Robocop," said Salem.

By then Sabrina had gotten Jenny to calm down enough so that the mortal girl wasn't on the verge of going crazy, "I promise you, Jenny, I'll explain everything as soon as one more friend of mine gets here."

"Which I'll do now," said Aunt Zelda. She then zapped in Valerie, who was wearing a fur-lined parka.

"What the…?" an understandably confused Valerie asked, "Sabrina? What's going on? One minute I was finishing unpacking my room, and now I have no idea where I am…I think I've finally lost it."

"Believe me, Valerie, you haven't," said Sabrina, "but first, Valerie, this is Jenny; Jenny, Valerie."

"Oh, hi," said a much calmer Jenny as she and Valerie shook hands, "welcome to the nightmare."

"This is your nightmare?" Valerie asked, "I thought this was my hallucination."

"I thought I was dreaming," said Harvey.

"You're here too?" Valerie asked, "either we're all crazy…or…?"

"Or a lot of unanswered questions are about to be answered," said Sabrina, "first of all, Valerie, Harvey, Jenny, what I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy to believe. Well, Harvey and Valerie are sort of okay with it…I mean they were okay with it, and I hope they will be okay again."

"I'm staring to freak out again," said a more nervous Jenny.

"You'd better just get it said and done, Sabrina," said Aunt Zelda, "the sooner you tell them, the sooner they'll accept the truth."

"Uh, yeah," said Sabrina. "But there's still a few things first. Harvey, you've already met my dad. Jenny, Valerie, this is my dad. And everyone, this is my mom."

"It's so nice to finally meet my daughter's friends," said Diana as she shook hands with Harvey, Valerie and Jenny.

"Nice to finally meet Sabrina's mom," said Harvey.

"It's nice," said Jenny, "now, can someone please tell me what's going on?"

"I'd like to know that myself," said Valerie, "unless we're all going crazy."

"It'd might be better if you were losing it," said Sabrina, "but that's not the truth," she took a bracing breath before speaking, "Harvey, Jenny, Valerie, I'm a witch."

"What?" Jenny asked, "a witch? You mean a black pointy hat wearing, cauldron stirring, broomstick riding witch?"

"Yes on the first two," said Sabrina, "no on the last. But I do fly a vacuum cleaner," she eyed Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, "but I'd be much happier with a car."

"It never fails," said a slightly exasperated Aunt Hilda.

"Wait a second," said Harvey, "I'm starting to remember stuff…a lot of stuff," he looked at Salem, "we did talk a lot about action movies," he looked at Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda, "and you asked me to save Sabrina from a love-sick troll, that little guy who keeps coming around and says he's her cousin."

"I wish I could forget that," said Sabrina, "but yes, it's true."

"I also remember a lot of stuff," said Valerie, "especially," she blushed with embarrassment but smiled at the happy memory, "Sabrina, you made it so that I danced with Drew Carrey!"

"And I got to play catch with Mark Langston!" said Harvey, "you are a witch, Sabrina, And I'm okay with it!"

"And I'm okay with it too!" said Valerie, "my best friend is a witch, and I'm okay with it!"

"Can I say something?" Jenny asked, "first of all, I am okay with Sabrina being a witch," she looked at Sabrina, "it's so cool that you're a witch, but I'm not okay with the big guy over there who turned me into a grasshopper."

"Oh, one second," said Sabrina. She then looked at Drell, "tell Jenny you're sorry for turning her into a grasshopper."

"I'll do no such thing!" said Drell, "she came to the other realm uninvited, and mortals can only come to the other realm on Friday the 13th. Any other time and said mortal gets turned into a grasshopper. Those are the rules."

"I know that," said Sabrina, "but with all that's going on right now, could you do me this one little favor and apologize? It'll make things go so much easier with my friend."

"No," said Drell as he stubbornly crossed his arms, "I stand by my actions. Besides, the girl got turned back to normal with no ill effects."

"Well you're going to apologize," said Sabrina, "or else!"

"Or else what?" Drell asked, "'terrible things will happen?'"

"Maybe," said Sabrina, "I'll ask Richard to reveal your secret."

"I might just do that," said Richard.

"Oh alright," said an irate Drell, "I'm sorry I turned the little mortal into a grasshopper. There, are you satisfied?"

"I'm okay with it," said Jenny.

"Then I'm satisfied," said Sabrina. She then looked at her friends and her mother, "I have a lot to tell you but not much time to tell it in, so here's the short version;

**…One summarized explanation later…**

"So that's it," said Sabrina, "I'm the only one who can find these talismans and use them to defeat Diabolic."

"But that creep said he was going to kill you!" said Valerie, "you can't go! You just can't go!"

"He's gonna kill me and everything else if I don't go," said Sabrina, "I have to do this."

"But why?" Jenny asked, "why are you so eager to do this when in the end you're going to end up dead?"

"I honestly don't know exactly why," said Sabrina, "sure, I know that if I don't do it, no one else will, that I have to be the one to do it. But why I really, really want to do it, I don't know. I wish I knew where all this courage is coming from. Maybe it's messing with my head, or maybe it's helping me see the bigger picture. Either way, it's what I want to do and what I'm going to do."

"Then I'm going with you," said Harvey, "I won't let you save the universe alone."

"What?" Sabrina asked, "wait, no. No! Harvey, you can't come with me!"

"He most certainly cannot!" said Aunt Zelda.

"It's dangerous enough for a witch with her full powers," said Aunt Hilda, "for a mortal it'd be a surefire death sentence!"

"I know that," said Harvey.

"You don't know anything," said Richard, "my dear boy, to even consider joining in on this Quest is one of the most serious of matters anyone could undertake."

"I know how serious it is," said Harvey, "there's nothing more serious when the whole universe is at stake. But there's more to that."

He looked around at everyone in the council room "I get it that Sabrina's risking her life for everyone and everything. But that doesn't mean that she has to do it alone, and I want to go with her. I want to go, because I love her and I want to keep her safe."

"You do realize what you're saying," said Richard, "by stating that you wish to take up the Quest means that you _will_ go. There's a small ritual where everyone who initially goes on the Quest makes a vow, in which you're sworn to see the Quest through to the end, even if that end is your death.

"But before that there's every chance for you to change your mind. Young man, you must be absolutely sure of yourself before you take that oath, for once you start, there's no going back. I'm not doubting your courage or your love for Sabrina, but there are other factors that must be considered."

"First and foremost," said Aunt Zelda, "is the fact that Harvey is a mortal."

"Diabolic will chew you up and spit you out!" said Salem, "and he'll use your bones to pick the little bits of you that get stuck in his teeth."

"I get that," said Harvey, "but I still want to go. Where Sabrina goes, I go. I know that I can't use magic or anything special like that, but if I can do anything that'll keep her safe while she does this Quest, I'll do it"

"And I want to go as well," said Jenny, "I know that I'm not a witch and have no special powers, but Sabrina's my friend; the best friend I had in Westbridge, and if I can do anything that'll help her save the universe, count me in."

"No way!" said Sabrina, "it's bad enough that I have to do this. I won't let you risk your life for me."

"Well too bad," said Jenny, "'cause I'm going with you, whether you like it or not."

"Count me in too!" said Valerie, "I'm probably losing my mind right now, but Sabrina's also my friend, also the best friend I had in Westbridge. If it weren't for Sabrina, I would have been eaten alive by Libby several times over, and Mr. Kraft would have torn me apart as well. Sabrina helped me come out of my shell and live my life. I want to help Sabrina in anyway I can."

"You guys," said Sabrina as her heart filled with unbridled love for her friends.

"It doesn't take a genius to realize that you three are serious about this," said Richard, "very well, I see no reason why such dedicated friends shouldn't go with Sabrina."

"Uh, hello?" Salem said, "They're mortals! If that's not reason enough to stop them…"

"Oh," said Richard, "Salem should go as well."

"I…what!" exclaimed Salem.

"That's right," said Richard, "Salem should go with Sabrina. Most Wizards in The Spiral have magical pets," He looked at Sabrina, "you'll learn all about those when you get to Wizard City. It'd only be natural for you to have your own pet while in The Spiral."

"Listen up, bub!" said Salem, "I am not a pet!"

"But you are still a cat for the next 120 years," said one of the witches council, "that doesn't have to be that way."

"You have been to The Spiral, Salem Saberhagen," said another member of the council, "it would help if Sabrina had someone she knew as a guide."

"Well," said Salem, "I have had my exploits in The Spiral. But that was a long time ago. Places change and people tend to forget," he then spoke to himself, "hopefully they've forgotten a lot."

"But you have experience," said a third member of the council, "and that experience may mean life or death for Sabrina."

At that Salem paused in thought before speaking, "well…I suppose I could be persuaded into going, but it's gonna cost you."

"If you're asking to have your sentence commuted, forget it!" said one of the witches council.

"But we can shorten it," said another council member, "by…oh say…five years?"

"Fifty!" said Salem, "if I'm going to do this, then I want that time I had Sabrina put my essence inside a mortal to be forgotten in the eyes of the council."

"Out of the question!" said one of the council, "you used your time as a mortal to influence another mortal to go into politics, which clearly was another of your schemes of world domination. Ten years off your sentence."

"But I've learned my lesson," said Salem in a humble tone, "I swear, all my ambitions for supreme power were crushed when you slapped those extra years on me," he then got serious again, "thirty five years off."

"Twelve and a half," said another council member, "you'll be risking your life alongside Sabrina, so if you die you won't get to enjoy your reduced sentence."

"Thirty," said Salem, "which is why I should be properly compensated."

"Seventeen and a half," said one of the council members, "you're dead anyway if Sabrina fails, so what do you have to lose?"

"A lot," said Salem, "twenty-two and a half!"

"Twenty-five!" said one of the council members.

"Ha!" said Salem triumphantly, "done deal!"

"Damn!" snapped the council member as he realized he'd been tricked. He then sighed with annoyed defeat, "alright. Salem Saberhagen, for joining Sabrina on her Quest, we will reduce your sentence by twenty-five years."

"Yes!" said Salem.

"Provided that you survive," said the council member, "we're not taking any chances with you."

"This is the best offer you're going to get," said one of the council members, "so take it or leave it."

"You guys drive a hard bargain," said Salem, "but I'll take it," he looked at Richard, "so where do I sign up for this Quest?"

"There's still the matter of the three mortals who think they can help but they can't!" said Aunt Hilda. She looked at Harvey, Valerie and Jenny, "you can't come on this Quest. You'll never last a day!"

"That doesn't mean we can't try," said Harvey, while Jenny and Valerie nodded in agreement.

"Trying won't keep you alive," said Ted, "you might just stand a chance if you had special powers, but that's not going to happen."

"I wonder," said Aunt Zelda as a faraway look dawned on her face, "maybe…just maybe…if I use the right formula…combined with the right spell…"

"What are you up to?" Aunt Hilda asked.

"I think it may be possible for Harvey, Jenny and Valerie to go on the Quest," said Aunt Zelda, "and to give them, temporally that is, special powers that will help them."

"You mean super powers?" Harvey asked.

"Oh, that'd be so awesome!" said Jenny.

"I guess I could be alright with that," said Valerie, "I mean, if I were like one of the X-Men, or better yet, The Invisible Woman, that'd be so great," she then looked like she was having a very unpleasant thought, "but wait, what if I end up like The Incredible Hulk, and go completely berserk?"

"That wouldn't happen," said Aunt Zelda as she zapped in her laptop lab, "with the right recipe for the potion, I can, to a degree of error, determin what kind of powers you'll receive. It all depends on your inner strengths, as well as your personalities."

"Oh, okay," said Valerie, "I guess."

"Wait, there's one more thing," said Ted, "if Sabrina's friends go with her on the Quest, how will we explain their absences from the mortal realm?"

"Oh, I didn't think of that," said Sabrina, "I guess my not being there all summer…And Harvey and Jenny…and what about Valerie?"

"We could say that they were abducted by aliens," said Salem, "but that'd be pushing it."

"I actually have a better idea," said Aunt Hilda, "first of all, Zelda and I'll just say that Sabrina's staying with her father."

"For the whole summer?" Diana asked.

"We could also say that she's with you for part of the time," said Aunt Zelda as she worked on the super power potion.

"That could work," said Sabrina, "but when I come back from defeating Diabolic, and I will come back, I'm gong to need proof that I've been with my parents."

"Leave the evidence to me," said Aunt Hilda, "anyway, as for Harvey, Valerie and Jenny, we could make doubles of them and send them back to the mortal realm to live out the summer for the real ones."

"Of course!" said Sabrina, "doubles!"

"Doubles?" Harvey asked.

"Remember that Halloween party at your house?" Sabrina asked, "The one with all the snacks that had to be eaten before they spoiled, and where Libby streaked?"

"Libby actually streaked?" Valerie asked in a shocked tone, "I wish I saw that…wait… no I don't want to see that."

"Well," said Sabrina in an embarrassed tone, "that really wasn't Libby."

"You mean you did streak?" a shocked Harvey asked, "but how could you? You were right there in front of me when it happened!"

"I was right there when it happened," said Sabrina, "but earlier I was at a family Halloween party in the other realm."

"But you were there at the party," said Harvey, "you were there all night."

"And didn't you notice how odd I was acting?" Sabrina asked.

"More than usual?" Harvey asked, "well, now that I think about it, it was strange that you kept following Libby around and stopped her from talking to me all the time. And that you kept saying just 'I'd love to,' 'that's so true,' and something else about Mr. Pool."

"That was a magical copy of me," said Sabrina, "I made her keep you away from Libby and…" she paused as she realized something bad, "oh wait, no, this plan won't work. That copy of me could only speak three sentences."

"If a copy of me went around only saying three sentences all summer," said Valerie, "my folks would definitely know something's wrong."

"That would only happen if the copy is of a witch," said Aunt Zelda.

"It's easier to make copies of mortals," said Aunt Hilda, "don't ask me why, it just is."

"The mechanics of the spell would take far too long to explain," said Aunt Zelda, "but suffice to say, a copy of a mortal would be able to follow more instructions and have a much better vocabulary."

"But the copies would have to act exactly like me, Harvey and Valerie," said Jenny, "if my double were to do something different from what I usually do, then everyone around me would know something's wrong."

"Especially Mr. Kraft," said Valerie, "if he sees any of you acting differently, he'd definitely know something's up."

"You leave Willard to me," said Aunt Zelda, "and you can relax about your doubles. Between Hilda, Sabrina and I, we can make it so that the doubles will not only act like the originals, but also have their memories. They'll know that they're doubles but will be fine with the situation."

"And the best part," said Aunt Hilda, "is that when you come back, the doubles are absorbed into you and everything that they did while you were gone, get absorbed into your memories."

"So I'll remember what the other me did?" Valerie asked, "oh, that's cool."

"Great," said Harvey, "I'll end up remembering taking care of my baby sister all summer."

"At least your baby sister will have her big brother with her all summer," said Jenny, "so, how are you going to make copies of this?"

"Just a second," said Aunt Zelda as she added ingredients to the potion, "there, it now needs to simmer for five minutes," she then faced Harvey, Jenny and Valerie, "now, I need the three of you to stand together, while Hilda, Sabrina and I will cast the spell together as well."

"Exactly what are you going to do to us?" Valerie asked as she, Harvey and Jenny stood together, while Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda and Sabrina stood opposite of them.

"Nothing that'll hurt you," said Sabrina.

"Although side effects may include headache," said Salem, "slight numbness of the teeth, hair loss and splotched skin, as well as…"

"That's enough, Salem," said Aunt Zelda. She then spoke to Sabrina's friends, "this won't hurt a bit."

Sabrina, Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda then pointed their fingers at Harvey, Jenny and Valerie and spoke the spell, _"Double, Double, toil and trouble!"_ The tripple spells hit Harvey, Jenny and Valerie.

"Nothing happened," said Valerie.

"Take one step forward," said Salem.

The three friends stepped forward and their doubles appeared right were they were standing.

"Wow," said Jenny as she looked at her double, "this is just like in The Last Starfighter!"

"He doesn't seem at all like me," said Harvey as he looked at his expressionless Double.

"We haven't given them the power to talk yet," said Aunt Zelda.

"And we need to copy your memories into them as well," said Aunt Hilda, "which I'll do now." She pointed her finger and Harvey, Jenny and Valerie. There was the sound of a photocopier and a bright flash around the heads of the three friends. The flash then shot into the heads of the copies and the copies blinked and looked around.

"So this is what it's like to be in two places at the same time," said the copy of Harvey, "I always wondered what it'd be like to have a twin."

"Awesome!" said the real Harvey.

"Now this is like The Last Starfighter," said Jenny.

At that her double smiled brightly, "oh, I loved that movie!"

"So did I!" said the original Jenny.

"I'm actually looking forward to spending the summer in Alaska," said the copy of Valerie, "at least I won't get killed by a mad magic user."

"But there's still polar bears," said the real Valerie, "and even in summer it can get really cold in Alaska."

"Oh, yeah," said the copy of Valerie in a sheepish tone, "there's that." She looked at the original with pleading eyes, "take me with you, please!"

"I don't mind staying home," said the copy of Harvey, "I'll be there with little Unna and help her with whatever she needs."

"Make sure you take lots of pictures," said the real Harvey, "you know how bad mom and dad are with cameras."

"Like I could forget," said the double of Harvey.

"Hey! What about me?" Salem asked, "don't I get a double? I'm going on this Quest too, you know."

"If anyone asks," said Aunt Hilda, "you went with Sabrina."

"Oh, that's a good excuse," said Salem.

"Now remember," said Aunt Zelda to the three doubles, "all you need to do is go about your normal routines."

"If anyone asks about Sabrina," said Aunt Hilda, "just tell them that she's with her parents."

"And if Libby tries to get under your skin," said Sabrina to the copy of Harvey, "just tell her that I'll know about it, and I'll pay her back in kind when I get home."

"You won't seriously hurt this girl, will you?" Diana asked, "I can tell that you and this Libby have issues."

"We have more than issues," said Sabrina, "you know," she said in a thoughtful manner, "I'll bet that Libby and Diabolic are related in some way."

"They do have the same rotten disposition about them," said Salem, "it's possible."

"He has been around for thousands of years," said Richard, "it'd distinctly possible that they are related. But that's a matter for later. The ritual to finalize your participation in The Quest still has to be performed before you can set out."

"And I have to finish brewing the potion that will give Harvey, Valerie and Jenny their powers," said Aunt Zelda as she checked on the potion, "which shouldn't be much longer."

"And we have to get these guys back to the mortal realm," said Aunt Hilda. She then looked at the three copies, "good luck, you're gonna need it." She then zapped them, sending the Valerie double to Alaska, while the copies of Harvey and Jenny went to Westbridge.

"They'll be alright," said Aunt Zelda, "but they'll only last three months, then they'll melt."

"They'll what?" Valerie asked.

"Uh, yeah," said Aunt Hilda, "we should have mentioned that part."

"While it's easier to program mortal copies," said Aunt Zelda, "their life spans aren't that long. A double of a witch can last almost indefinitely, but a mortal double will live for only 90 days, starting the second the arrive in the mortal realm."

"So we've got till the end of summer to get back and reconnect with our copies," said Jenny, "sounds doable to me."

"90 days to save the universe and get home alive," said Harvey, "now that's an adventure."

"And such an adventure it will be," said Richard.

"And it'll be even more so once you three drink this," said Aunt Zelda as she poured a bright blue potion into three small vials and handed one each to Harvey, Valerie and Jenny, "once you drink it, it'll take effect within ten seconds. After a minute, we'll know exactly what kind of powers you have."

"Well," said Harvey as he looked at the potion in his hands, "this is it, I guess."

"One little drink and we'll have super powers," said Jenny.

"Now that we're about to do it," said Valerie, "I…"

"There's still time for you to change your minds," said Richard.

"And let Sabrina go alone with only her talking cat for help?" Jenny asked, "no way."

"We're in this to the end," said Harvey.

"Let's just do it before we chicken out," said Valerie, "all together…one…two…three!" they then drank the potion.

"Tastes like blueberries," said a surprised Jenny.

"The flavering was extra," said Aunt Zelda, "in seconds you'll feel the effects as the potion changes your every cell in your body."

"I'm starting to feel all tingly all over," said Harvey.

"Same with me," said Valerie, while Jenny nodded in agreement.

"Then it's begun," said Aunt Zelda, "now there shouldn't be any unpleasant feelings while the potion is changing you," she then paused as a highly unpleasant thought flashed through her mind, "although there is the possibility of the potion triggering a drastic genetic mutation."

"What!" exclaimed a horrified Valerie.

"Well," said Aunt Zelda in an uncomfortable tone, "the potion has only been used on mortals a few times in history, while most of those times resulted in the mortals ending up as horrible monsters."

"Now you're telling us this!" exclaimed Sabrina.

"Oh god!" exclaimed Valerie, "I knew it! I'm going to turn into The Incredible Hulk!"

"If I start sticking to walls," said Harvey, "Sabrina, I just want you to know, I love you with all my mutating heart!"

"Wait," said Jenny, "I…I feel…different."

"Different how?" Sabrina asked.

"Different like…" said Jenny as she struggled to find the words to describe her situation. She then smiled eagerly. Then ran out of the room so fast she was barely more than a blur. She then reappeared a few seconds later in a blurred streak, "like I can run around the world in the blink of an eye!"

"Ah, super speed," said Aunt Zelda, "that's a good sign that the others won't mutate. Not only can you run faster than anything else in the mortal realm, you also have agility and increased reflexes. You could outrun bullets and pull a roasting chestnut out of an open fire without burning your hand."

"This is so awesome!" said Jenny, "I'm like The Flash! What about you, Harvey?"

"I don't know," said Harvey, "I don't know exactly how to describe it. I feel like…" he then smiled eagerly as he walked over to one of the columns of the council room and with one punch smashed it into pieces. He then picked up the biggest piece and crushed it into powder, "like I can take on the world!"

"Super strength," said Aunt Zelda, "and with it endurance and invincibility. You could tear a mountain apart without getting tired, as well as endure all sorts of lethal objects of all sorts and not even be scratched."

"So I'm like Superman!" said Harvey, "can I fly like Superman? He then jumped a few times, actually jumping a lot higher than a normal mortal, but he didn't achieve flight, "no, I can't fly."

"I wish I could fly," said Valerie in a disappointed tone as she sat down, "I don't feel any different."

"But you have to have a super power," said Aunt Zelda, "I brewed the potion right, I know I did."

"Maybe it doesn't work on certain mortals," said Salem.

"And I'm one of them," said Valerie. Just then she realized that one of the pieces of the shattered pillar was levitating. Valerie then smiled eagerly, "wait, I'm doing that! I do have a super power!" she then made several pieces of shattered stone float in mid air and made them spin around in various patterns, all with her mind.

"Telekinesis," said Aunt Zelda, "Valerie, you have the power of mind over matter. Also, I believe that soon, you'll be able to communicate with your friends with telepathy."

"This is so awesome!" said Valerie, "way better than being The Incredible Hulk," she paused in thought, "although, now that I think of it, if I could have any super power, I'd like to be The Invisible Woman."

"Well," said Aunt Zelda, "I could tweak the potion a bit; change the recepie and see what kind of powers you'll get."

"No thanks!" said Valerie, "I'm perfectly happy with psycho flexing."

"And I'm okay with super strength," said Harvey.

"And I'm fine with super speed," said Jenny.

"I want a super power!" Salem whined, "I wouldn't mind turning into The Incredible Hulk."

"Sorry, Salem," said Aunt Zelda, "but I brewed only enough for Harvey, Jenny and Valerie, and I'm in no mood to brew up any more."

"It's not fair," said Salem, "the mortals get super powers, where as I'm just a cat."

"I can assure you, my fine furry friend," said Richard, "a few hours in Wizard City and you'll find yourself in possession of all sorts of abilities," he looked at Sabrina, "all will be made clear when you and your friends arrive in The Spiral, which brings us to the most important part; swearing the oath."

"What do we need to do?" Harvey asked.

"Just that you raise your right hands and repeat after me," said Richard, "for Salem, raise your paw."

Sabrina picked up Salem and held him in her left arm while she, Harvey, Jenny and Valerie raised their right hands, while Salem raised his right paw.

"I…" said Richard, "…state your name…"

"I…" said Sabrina and the others, "…state your name…"

"You just couldn't resist," said Aunt Hilda, "could you?"

"Can we continue," said Richard, "just say your names."

Sabrina, Harvey, Jenny, Valerie and Salem said their names.

"…do hereby swear by the light of truth and righteousness to carry out the Quest laid out before me, and to follow through in all the aspects involved in it, and to see the Quest through to the end, or until I fall in the line of duty, so help me god."

Sabrina and her friends repeated the oath word for word.

"And that's that," said Richard, "all that's left to do is go to Wizard City. I'd go with you myself if I could, but I'm needed elsewhere. But my great-grandson Andrew will be there when you arrive in Wizard City, he'll help you with whatever you need when you get there. Oh," he then raised his staff and with a green flash, summoned four red pouches the size of small purses and one slightly larger blue pouch.

"You won't last very long in The Spiral without currency to purchase supplies and other things you'll need," said Richard, "the red pouches contain each 200,000 Gold pieces, and can hold much more, while the blue pouch has 50,000 Crowns, which is a much more valuable currency than Gold."

"Why's that?" Jenny asked as she opened one of the pouches containing Gold and looked at the sparkly coins.

"Crowns can be used to buy Gold," said Richard, "and other, far more valuable items that may come in handy on your journey. But don't spend them in one place; it's far too easy to earn Gold, but Crowns are a horse of a different color."

"So we'll have some shopping to do when we get there," said Valerie, "okay."

"And there's this," said Richard as he pulled from his pocket a large envelope that was sealed with green wax, "when you get to Wizard City, give this to Merle Ambrose, Headmaster of Ravenwood, he'll provide you with whatever aid you'll need."

"Merle Ambrose," said Sabrina as she took the letter and put it in her pocket, "got it."

"Old Merle's still alive and kicking?" Salem asked, "I thought he'd be retired by now."

"As long as he can teach he will," said Richard, "and now all that's left to do is say goodbye and good luck. I won't lie to you about your chances; Diabolic is going to use everything in his considerable dark powers to destroy you. All I can offer you is prayers and well wishes, and this bit of advice: make lots of friends while in The Spiral, for friendship is a far greater magic than you can possibly realize."

"Yeah," said Sabrina, "that is so true."

A few minutes later Sabrina and her friends had finished saying goodbye to Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Diana, Ted and Richard. Then they were ready.

But then Sabrina looked at Drell, "aren't you gonna wish me luck?"

"There's nothing to say," said Drell, "except kick some Diabolic ass."

"Will do," said Harvey.

Richard then raised his staff once again and summoned a swirling vortex of rainbow colored magic, "this is the direct portal to The Spiral. You'll emerge in a large chamber inside The World Tree in the middle of Ravenwood. I sent a message to my great-grandson. He should be waiting for you already."

"How'd you send him a message?" Valerie asked.

"I'll bet magic's involved," said Jenny.

"All Wizards can communicate with their minds across vast distances," said Richard, "I won't say anything else; for the best experience in The Spiral is to experience things for yourselves."

"Thanks for the heads up," said Sabrina as she picked up Salem.

"Sabrina!" cried Diana, "come back safely."

"I will, mom," said Sabrina. She looked at everyone in the council room, "I will come back! And when I do come back, it'll mean that Diabolic is gone for good!"

"What she said," said Valerie, while Jenny and Harvey nodded in agreement.

"Good luck!" Hilda shouted.

"We don't need luck," said Salem, "We were born lucky."

"What he said," said Harvey, while Jenny and Valerie nodded in agreement. With that they all stepped through the portal, which vanished after them.

At that Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda were on the verge of tears, "It's not right!" said Aunt Zelda, "They're just children! How can we entrust the universe to children?"

"You'd be surprised what children can do," said Richard.

"What I don't understand is where Sabrina got all that courage from," said Diana, "I'm sure that being a witch changed her a bit, but still…"

"She's more than changed from her powers," said Ted, "this new courage of our daughter, I saw it happen to Gabrielle."

"Being Chosen carries its own magic," said Richard, "the heart of The Chosen One is endowed with magic that amplifies the courage that already exists there. And the courage of the Chosen One is passed through to the hearts of those who travel with her. And courage itself is also a great magic."

"I hope so," said Diana, "I hope so."

* * *

><p>The next thing Sabrina and the others knew, they were in a large circular chamber. All around them there were large trees with green leaves falling here and there. Sabrina and the others saw that they were on a large, round stone platform that had steps leading to the floor that was colored brown, then green, then brown again. This lead to more steps all around them, with one set of steps directly ahead of them leading to a doorway.<p>

They saw that around them on the platform were four stone, vine encrusted stone columns that supported a stone canopy that held a large red and gold banner that had the image of a huge tree.

Then Sabrina and the others realized that right behind them was a large wooden door.

"Did we just walk through that door?" Jenny asked, "I thought it was a portal."

"Guess we've got a lot to learn about this new place," said Harvey.

"We'll get to see a lot," said Sabrina, "but what I want to know is where Richard's grandson, Andrew is?"

Just then there was a flash of green sparks, and there stood a young man in his late teens to early twenties. He had medium skin tone with dark green hair and brown eyes and wore green robes with a matching green hat. He carried a tall bronze staff that was capped with a large emerald.

"Are you Sabrina Spellman?" the wizard in green asked, "my great-grandfather said you were coming."

"And here I am," said Sabrina, "you're Andrew, Richard's grandson."

"Indeed I am," said the wizard. He then bowed respectfully, "Andrew Greenspear, Grandmaster Theurgist, at your service. You have the letter for headmaster Ambrose?"

"Right here," said Sabrina as she took said letter from her pocket.

"Then there's no time to waste," said Andrew Greenspear, "I'll take you directly to the headmaster."

"I think there's a problem with that," said a nervous Valerie.

"Why?" Andrew Greenspear asked.

"Because of the large, blue snowman with a big, sharp knife right there!" said Valerie.

Sabrina, Harvey, Jenny, Salem and Andrew Greenspear then saw that there was a large, blue snowman, with a large, sharp knife, slithering towards them with the knife raised.

"Kill!" shouted the snowman, "Kill! KILL!"

To Be Continued…


	3. Chapter 3: Wizards of The Spiral

**Chapter 3: Wizards of The Spiral**

"Are you Sabrina Spellman?" the wizard in green asked, "my great-great-grandfather said you were coming."

"And here I am," said Sabrina, "you're Andrew, Richard's grandson."

"Indeed I am," said the wizard. He then bowed respectfully, "Andrew Greenspear, Master Theurgist, at your service. You have the letter for headmaster Ambrose?"

"Right here," said Sabrina as she took said letter from her pocket.

"Then there's no time to waste," said Andrew Greenspear, "I'll take you directly to the headmaster."

"I think there's a problem with that," said a nervous Valerie.

"Why?" Andrew Greenspear asked.

"Because of the large, blue snowman with a big, sharp knife right there!" said Valerie.

Sabrina, Harvey, Jenny, Salem and Andrew Greenspear then saw that there was a large, blue snowman, with a large, sharp knife, slithering towards them with the knife raised.

"Kill!" shouted the snowman, "Kill! KILL!"

"No!" shouted a terrified Salem, "I'm too young to be skinned!"

"If it's a fight you want, snowman!" said Harvey as he stood in front of Sabrina, "you'll get it! I'll rip you apart!"

"And I'll tear chunks out of you so fast," said Jenny, "your head will spin!"

"I'm just gonna close my eyes and pretend I'm back in Alaska!" said Valerie.

Sabrina was about to say something, but Andrew Greenspear walked right up to the homicidal snowman and bopped it on the head with his staff, not too hard, but hard enough to get the creature's attention.

"That's not how we treat guests, Maximus!" said Andrew Greenspear, "these good people are here to help and the last thing they need is to be scared by my pet."

"That's your pet?" a shocked Harvey asked.

"Yeah," said Andrew Greenspear, "Sir Maximus isn't usually this grumpy. Well, he is usually grumpy, but not enough to want to kill anyone."

Sabrina then saw that the large snowman was shrinking down to the size of a small dog.

"Ha!" said Salem as he jumped down from Sabrina's arms and glared at the small snowman, "how's the big, tough maniac now, huh?"

The snowman, Sir Maximus, responded by waiving his knife in Salem's face.

"Who still has a big, sharp knife!" said Salem as he frantically ran back to Sabrina and frightfully leapt into her arms again, "Mommy!"

"Shouldn't you be worried that you've got a snowman with a knife for a pet?" Jenny asked.

"He had the knife when he hatched," said Andrew Greenspear, "all Snowmen, be they of Ice, Fire or Storm, all of them come with a knife."

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," said Valerie.

"I'll bet," said Andrew, "a lot of us Wizards had no idea what was happening to us when we first got to The Spiral."

"Weren't you born here?" Sabrina asked.

"It's complicated," said Andrew, "I'll try to explain as best I can, but there's a lot to be done and not much time to do it in. First things' first; taking you outlanders to see Headmaster Ambrose. Follow me if you will."

With that he walked up the stairway at the far end of the wooden chamber to a doorway that led outside.

"He seems…okay to me," said Jenny as she, Sabrina and the others followed Andrew out of the room.

"Richard did say we could trust him," said Valerie, "but still…"

"All we can do is keep our eyes and ears open," said Sabrina, "and hope that nothing too crazy happens."

"Crazier than being a witch?" Harvey asked, "or a mortal with borrowed super powers."

"Yeah," said Sabrina, "I think we've used up our crazy allowence for the week."

"I hear that the crazy bank is accepting loans this week," said Salem.

The four friends plus talking cat exited the chamber and found themselves in a large courtyard with the walls being made of bluish gray stone. All around them were dozens of boys and girls, most of them in their mid to late teens, with some here and there much younger, while a few were in their early twenties.

All of them were dressed in a flurry of colors and styles. A lot of them had pets of various kinds, but they all had one common factor; they all had either a staff or a wand.

Sabrina and the others saw several buildings in the courtyard, all surrounding a huge tree that, apparently, they had just walked out of. Each building was colored differently and had a different elemental theme to it, as well as a smaller tree next to each building. On the left was a purple building that had a thunderstorm theme, followed by a blue building that had snow falling on it, followed by a red building with a fire theme.

On the right was a green, nature building, followed by a yellow building, and then there was an empty space that looked like a huge chunk of the ground was ripped out and taken somewhere else.

"This is Ravenwood School of Magical Arts," said Andrew, "on your left you'll find the Schools for Storm, Ice and Fire, while on the right are the schools for Life, Myth, and that huge empty space used to be where the Death School was, more on Death School later. And Balance is primarily taught in Krokotopia, but we'll get to that later.

"The tree we just walked out is Bartleby; The World Tree, through which all the world of The Spiral, and a lot of other places, can be accessed."

"Wow," said an awed Sabrina, "this is…intense."

"I was amazed also when I first got here," said Andrew, "we all were when we first got here." He then walked forward towards the gateway of the stone wall, "those two towers beside the gateway lead to the dorms; boys on the left, girls on the right. But the dorms are only for new studens. Most Wizards have either their own house or a castle, while other domiciles are available for those with way too much money on their hands."

"You have your own house?" Valerie asked.

"I had to get one," said Andrew, "I was collecting so much stuff that my dorm room was too crowded for me to live in."

"I know the feeling," said Sabrina, "where I'm from, witches live for so long, they collect all sorts of stuff," she looked at Harvey, Jenny and Valerie, "remind me sometime to tell you about when Aunt Zelda inherited a small kingdom, and I mean a small one."

"And she gave it up," said Salem, "when she could have been a great dictator."

"With you guiding her, Salem Saberhagen," said Andrew, "my great-grandfather warned me of your exploits on your Earth. I can assure you that we Wizards have very little tolerance for dictators or anyone who abuses power."

"What do you mean?" Salem asked, "wait, as if I have to ask."

"Evil isn't exactly welcome here in The Spiral," said Andrew, "if someone causes trouble, we stop it. Sometimes it takes longer than others, but we get the job done."

"Just how many wizards are there?" Sabrina asked.

"A lot," said Andrew, "nobody really knows how many, or maybe no one has ever made an accurate census. If I were to venture a guess, I'd say that at any given moment, there's millions of Wizards throughout The Spiral. Some live on the various worlds, others have homes elsewhere in the other realm. But a lot of us, myself included, we've got homes here in The Spiral, and on the multiple Earths."

"What does that mean?" Harvey asked.

"Multiple Earths?" Valerie asked, "that doesn't make any sense, I mean, planet Earth is planet Earth."

"I think he means parallel realities," said Jenny.

"Precisely," said Andrew.

"I don't get it," said Harvey, "wait…you mean like The Mirror Universe in Star Trek?"

"Not as extreme," said Andrew, "true, there are universes that are polar opposites of each other; one good, one evil."

"I know the feeling," said Sabrina.

"Well where most of us wizards come from," said Andrew, "are worlds that, for the most part, are without active magic. Wizards are born on these multiple Earths all the time and would never realize that they could do magic. Only by coming to The Spiral, in one way or another, can we learn about and master our powers. Most wizards who complete their education at Ravenwood, and have a whole slew of adventures throughout The Spiral, return to their home worlds to practice their arts and try to bring a little magic to worlds without magic, and for the most part succeed."

"What's your home world like?" Sabrina asked.

"Not much different from your world, I guess," said Andrew, "nothing special about my world anyway."

"But it's still different from ours?" Jenny asked, "is Brittney Spears popular on your world?"

"Oh, I'm gonna try and get concert tickets for her next show in September," said Harvey.

"Oh, save me a ticket!" said an eager Sabrina.

"Now I'm really looking forward to living in Alaska," said a really depressed Valerie.

"If we can move on," said Andrew, "I'd love to talk about how our worlds are different and the same, but if this is as serious as my great-grandfather said, then there's not much time. Besides, it's rude to keep the headmaster waiting." He then showed Sabrina and the others to the archway, which lead to a dimly lit tunnel.

They soon emerged from the tunnel to a brightly area that resembled a quad of a university. Stone buildings were all around, while a small stream divided the area with several stone bridges across it. The source of the stream was a large waterfall that was producing a huge rainbow. All across the area were dozens of wizards wearing a wild variety of colors and different styled outfits. Some of the Wizards zoomed about on broomsticks, while a few rode horses, and here and there there were wizards riding on griffins and other mythical creatures. And there were also wizards who had large wings.

"This is The Commons," said Andrew, "from here you can access the rest of Wizard City," he indicated one street off to the right, which had several large, brightly colored tents, "that's The Fairgrounds, were wizards can earn a little cash and recharge their Mana between Quests. Beyond that is Golem Court, where wizards can train and test their mettle in Golem Tower."

He then pointed to a large stone building off to the far left, "That's the Library. All Wizards need to do research for their curriculums, and also purchase Treasure Cards, which are single use spell cards. Once you cast them they're gone and you have to buy more. They're not that expensive, just a pain to keep buying and remembering to load them into one's deck."

He indicated a doorway to the right of the library, "that leads to the Pet Pavilion. There, Wizards can train their pets in a variety of activates to make them stronger, both in battle and in competitions."

"Your pets can fight each other?" Valerie asked, "that's inhumane!"

"We don't have pet fights," said Andrew, "rather, our pets help us in duels against monsters and other wizards. Some pets, my on for example, can cast spells that allow them to attack. Other pets cast healing spells, while others cast spells that can increase the attack and defensive power of a wizard, or reduce the attack or defense of an enemy. We also have pet races, just for fun and prizes, but that's for later."

"Maybe Salem can enter one of those races," said Harvey.

"Not on your life!" said Salem, "I'm not a show dog or a race horse. However, if the right reward is there for the winner, I suppose I could be persuaded."

"You'll have to be trained up first," said Andrew, "there's games where the pets improve their strength of mind and body, as well as their speed and agility. The Pet Pavilion also has shops for pet snacks, which are essential for the health and improvement of pets, and also a shop where one can buy new pets, and also a place to hatch pets. I'll explain that later.

"Moving on," he pointed to an archway leading straight ahead, "That leads to the Marketplace, where wizards get their supplies and beyond that is Olde Town, where the rest of Wizard City leads. But first thing's first," he lead Sabrina and the others forward a bit to a large stone house that was more like a small castle, "this is the residence of Merle Ambrose, Headmaster of Ravenwood."

"He's got to be the headmaster to have such a fancy place," said Jenny as Andrew lead the way in.

"I've seen fancier," said Salem.

They went inside, arriving in a large office where the walls were packed with bookcases that were packed with books. Odd magical instruments lay here and there, especially on the large oak desk in the middle, while a large blue crystal ball sat on a pedestal near the desk. And behind the desk was an elderly wizard, with a long white beard and moustache, wearing blue robes and hat with white stars and a monocle in front of one eye.

"Ah, young Andrew," said the wizard as he stood up and walked over, "I see that you've brought in guests from afar. Am I to assume that The Chosen One is among them."

"I hope so, headmaster," said Andrew. He looked at Sabrina and the others, "This is the Headmaster, Merle Ambrose."

At that Sabrina took out the letter that Richard gave her, "I'm the Chosen One, sir. I'm Sabrina Spellman, and Andrew's great-grandfather said to give you this."

"Indeed," said Headmaster Ambrose as he took the letter and read it, "Ah, yes…it seems that we are in a predicament."

"Then it's true, headmaster?" Andrew asked, "has the time of Diabolic's return come? Is this truly the time of darkness that was foretold long ago?"

"I fear that the cycle of Diabolic has indeed come once again," said Ambrose, "and this maybe the one where Diabolic will be free to spread his evil unchecked," he looked at Sabrina, "assuming our young witchly friend doesn't stop the maniac first."

"I've got every intention of wining, sir," said Sabrina.

"And we're going to help," said Harvey, while Valerie and Jenny nodded in agreement.

"Then there's no reason why we shouldn't get started," said Headmaster Ambrose, "but there is knowledge that you, Sabrina, and your friends are in need of if you are to successfully make your way through The Spiral."

"We're all ears," said Salem.

"First of all," said Headmaster Ambrose, "let me tell you a bit about the different forms of magic in The Spiral. The six main schools at Ravenwood are divided into two different classes; Spirit and Elemental. First of the Spirit schools is the School of Life.

"Life is spirit, the force of awareness and existence. It is about constant growth and movement. Practitioners of Life Magic, known as Theurgists, are positive, enthusiastic people who seek to appreciate the simple pleasures. At times, however, they can be too flighty or frivolous when circumstances demand otherwise."

"I'm kind of the exception," said Andrew, "for the most part I'm usually serious and straight to the point. But I'm told that at times I'm anything but serious. Sometimes I can't stop spouting puns. But I'm always there for my friends and I always take a duel seriously."

"As I was saying," said Headmaster Ambrose, "Theurgists use Songs to breathe life and spirit into a vessel. Unlike other magic, which relies on summoning, coercing or beseeching, Life Magic harnesses the power of the Song of Creation to create something new. Scholars believe that Theurgy channels the tapestry of music from which the Spiral was created, and that in echoing portions of the great symphony, a Wizard can bring forth and create Life where none previously existed.

"As the motto of the Life School says; _'As we have been Created, so must we Create.''_

"We've all had our Frankenstein moments," said Andrew, "anyway, like my great-grandfather probably told you, at Life School, we learn to heal ourselves and other wizards. We heal ourselves more efficiently than others, but it works on everyone. Also, our magic is the most accurate, and we can heal an entire group with just one spell."

"What do you mean about accuracy?" Sabrina asked.

"Well," said Andrew, "magic doesn't work all the time. Sometimes a spell 'fizzles' and we have to try again later. Life magic for the most part has a 90% accuracy, while Schools like Death and Balance are 85% accurate. Myth and Ice are 80% accurate, Fire is 75% and Storm is the worst, only 70%."

"Why use magic that can fail so easily?" Harvey asked.

"Mostly the wizard in question has no choice," said Headmaster Ambrose, "magic chooses the wizard It all depends on who the wizard is in mind and heart."

"But all wizards can learn from the different schools," said Andrew, "anyone can learn the core curriculum of the schools, while each school has spells that only its respective wizards can learn. And of course, there's Treasure Cards, which anyone can use, despite their experience level.

"As Wizards progress in their powers, they gain experience that allows them to use stronger and stronger spells. It all depends on one's level, which is divided into several stages:

Novice

Apprentice

Initiate

Journeyman

Adapt

Magus

Master

Grandmaster

Legendary

"I happen to be a Grandmaster Theurgist."

"You told us that already," said Salem, "Tell us something you don't know."

"Alright," said Andrew as he crossed his arms, "if you want to know, I happen to be a fan of not only 80's pop and heavy metal, but also some funk and hip hop, but if you really want to know a secret that I'm not ashamed of, I'm a huge fan of Hannah Montana."

"Who?" Sabrina asked.

At that Andrew did a double take, "excuse me? You don't know who Hannah Montana is?"

"Should we?" Valerie asked.

"Of course you should!" said Andrew in an outraged tone, "wait, what about Miley Cyrus? Surely you've heard of her."

"Uh…no," said Jenny, "the name doesn't ring a bell."

"Me neither," said Sabrina as she zapped in a bell and tried to ring it, but no sound came from it.

"The name is kinda familiar," said Harvey, "any relation to Billy Ray Cyrus?"

"She's his daughter for crying out loud!" said an exasperated Andrew, "they both are in a hit sitcom on Disney Channel! I mean, what boulder have you been living under?"

"I honestly don't know," said Sabrina.

"Umm," said Andrew in a slightly uncomfortable tone, "okay, we'll get back to this later."

"If I may continue," said Headmaster Ambrose, "now, the second of the Spirit schools is The School of Myth. Myth is imagination. The power of the mind, and everything it can create, drives Myth Magic. It is illusion and dreams made real. If the Wizard can conceive it, it can be brought forth and even brought to life. But imagination can go beyond the control of the wizard and run wild. Wizards of the Myth School, known as Conjurers, use Naming to summon beasts of legend by memorizing and calling out their True Name."

"Oh yeah, True Names," said Sabrina, "my aunts mentioned those. Thay said that Diabolic's True Name was banished when he was originally banished from the witches council."

"A fate that surely drove Diabolic further into the darkness," said Headmaster Ambrose, "but that is a debate for later. To continue, The Myth School will train its student wizards to summon minions. Myth Wizards can summon a variety of minions, each with a little different function. They have their own moderate damage spells with moderate accuracy, but a lot of their more functional spells deal with buffing, healing, and protecting their minions. They also have the ability of taking down defenses on other Wizards and enemies, so if someone is stacking a bunch of defensive spells, a Myth wizard can get rid of them.

"As the motto of the Myth School says; _'To control the Future, one must look to the Past.'"_

"Third of the Spirit schools is one that has recently had a lot of controversy, considering that its Headmaster nearly ripped The Spiral Apart in an irrational quest to resurrect the dead."

"Well there's a stupid idea," said Jenny, "all you'll get by trying to bring back the dead are either zombies or vampires."

"Try telling that to Malistare Drake," said Andrew, "he wanted to resurrect the one person that he loved, his wife. He didn't care that to try to resurrect the dead would lead to dire consequences for the universe, he just wanted his wife back."

"Fortunately he was stopped before too many innocents were lost," said Headmaster Ambrose, "and Malistare was sent to the afterlife, where he was reunited with his wife."

"Now there's an ironic story with a happy ending," said Salem.

"If I may continue," said Merle Ambrose, "The School of Death. The Death School will train its student wizards to steal and support themselves. Death Wizards belong to an advanced school, simply because most of their spells take multiple step combinations to use effectively.

"Their spells, while not the strongest, do in most cases have the ability to absorb health from the enemy, which serves as a way for them to heal themselves. They have many preparatory spells that allow them to build up high-damage spells. Death is about ending and closure. All things pass eventually, and time cannot be held back forever. Wizards devoted to Death Magic, known as Necromancers, understand this fact about everything around them and strive to face it without fear. They try to make the most of their time.

"As the motto of the Death School says; _'Timor mortis conturbat me." (The Fear of Death Confounds Me)'_

"Just so you'll know," said Andrew, "Death magic, while cool in its own right, can be addicting and can lead to the path of evil."

"Right," said Sabrina, "good advice, we'll be staying away from Death magic."

"Now for the three elemental schools," said Headmaster Ambrose, "first is The School of Storm. Storm Magic is all about creativity. It represents that flash of insight, or the spark of inspiration that makes you yell, 'Eureka!' It is about the pleasure of catching lightning in a bottle. Wizards that embrace the School of Storm, known as Diviners, are driven by the thrill of investigation and discovery, the joys of invention and ingenuity, the power of creating and building. The drawback to such pursuits is the tendency to get lost in the maze of thoughts and being paralyzed to make a decision. Diviners use Verses to charm, enthrall or hypnotize creatures to help them. Storm Magic has roots in the power of the majestic Storm Lords, the race of Titans that ruled the seas in the Days Before.

The Storm School will train its student wizards to do a lot of damage. Storm Wizards have the ability to unleash high amounts of damage from an early level, which is good, but they place too much emphasis on power, and therefore suffer in terms of accuracy. They also have the least amount of base health points of any of the schools. When enemies cast damage buffs on themselves or damage reducers on a friendly player, storm wizards can remove those spells.

"As the motto of the Storm School Says: _'That which can be imagined, can be achieved.'_

"Moving on, there's the School of Ice. Ice Magic is all about persistence, slow but steady progression and advancement, like the great glaciers forever sliding across the landscape. Those who embrace the power of Ice, known as Thaumaturges, exhibit great patience and strength, but as a result they sometimes become rigid and inflexible. Thaumaturges use Chants to bargain or plead with Ice creatures to serve them. Ice Magic has its origins in the great Ice Giants, a race of Titans that built massive castles in the sky in the Days Before.

"The Ice School will train its student wizards to take high amounts of damage and survive. Ice Wizards have the highest natural health points and defenses which enable them to take large amounts of damage without dying. It is very hard to defeat them. A lot of their functional spells have to do with increasing their defenses and absorbing damage. They also have the ability to taunt enemies, which forces the enemy to focus attacks on them. This can come in handy when battling in a group.

"As the motto of the Ice School says: _'With Persistence, Victory is assured.'_

"Then there is the School of Fire. Fire is passion, the bright, burning flame of raw emotion sweeping over everything. Those who follow the School of Fire, known as Pyromancers, are tempestuous, quick to anger, and consumed by whatever drives them at that moment. They tend to walk a fine line, having great passion and enthusiasm for one's loves in life is good, but watch out! Passion can burn you up and consume you, leaving nothing but a charred husk of your former self. Pyromancers use Incantations to dominate and convince Fire creatures to do their Magic traces its origins back to the fierce Fire Dragons, the race of Titans that ruled the land in the Days Before.

"The Fire School will train its student wizards to do damage over time. Fire Wizards pile on spells that will continually do damage to the enemy. Initially these spells will not do much damage, but they eventually stack for possible large amounts of damage in short amounts of time. Fire wizards also learn the ability to stun, which disables the enemy from acting for one turn. They can heal themselves enough to get by, but nothing substantial.

"As the motto of the Fire School says: _'If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.'_

"And then there is the seventh school," said Ambrose, "a school who's primary location is elsewhere, but is now being taught in Ravenwood. The School of Balance. Balance is harmony and finding equality in all things. It draws on elements from each of the other schools, incorporating bits and pieces of those other energies to fill in the spaces between the Schools. Wizards who focus on Balance Magic, known as Sorcerers, are broad-minded. In their minds, all things deserve consideration, and there may be many answers to a single question. The drawback to this point of view, is a tendency to seem impassive or indecisive and never willing to embrace a side or position. Sorcerers use Transmutation to blend the forces of the other schools for their spells.

"Sorcery does not draw upon internal aspects of the caster, nor does it rely on external forces. Instead, it is the creation of something new by combining elements in unique and powerful ways.

"The Balance School will train its student wizards to be effective in group play. Balance Wizards are most effective in group play because they have the ability to buff other players as well as themselves. Although effective in group-play, they can still sufficiently play alone. They have a little bit of everything, which allows them to surpass most monster resistances, heal themselves a little bit, and buff players.

"As the motto of the Balance School says; '_Eye of Newt, and Toe of Frog, Wool of Bat, and Tongue of Dog.'"_

"That doesn't make any sense at all," said Harvey.

"I think you need to think outside the box in order to understand," said Jenny.

"As you will lean for yourselves when you arrive at the Balance School in Krokotopia," said Headmaster Ambrose, "due to the final spell cast by Andrew's great-uncle Charlie, we now know where the five talismans needed to defeat Diabolic are.

"The first one is here in Wizard City, and the vault it is sealed away in is located right outside in The Commons. But in order to get to it, the vault has to be unsealed by seven keys."

"And we have to find the keys," said Sabrina, "right?"

"Correct," said Headmaster Ambrose, "when the vault was magically created by Charlie's spell, the keys that sealed it were scattered across Wizard City. When the location of the vault was revealed, so was the locations of the keys. Each key is located in a hidden dungeon in the many areas of Wizard City; Unicorn Way, Triton alley, Cyclops Lane, Firecat Alley, Colossus Boulevard…"

"Of course there's one there," said Andrew in an exasperated. "The perfect place to hide a key is in a street full of Gobblers."

"Gobblers?" Sabrina asked, "what are they?"

"They kinda look like trolls," said Andrew, "not as ugly, but much more disgusting. And they'll eat just about anything."

At that Salem gulped, "do they eat cats?"

"Anything they get their grimy paws on," said Andrew.

"And yet another reason why I shouldn't have come," pouted Salem.

"If I may continue," said Headmaster Ambrose, "the sixth key is in Golem Court…"

"Only one place in that area where a hidden chamber could be," said Andrew, "Golem Tower. And I can guess the last hiding place, cause it's the only place left; Sunken City."

"Precisely," said Ambrose, "and each key is guarded by a powerful monster that will have to be defeated before giving up the key."

"Naturally we'll have to fight monsters to get to the keys," said Valerie, "and we're just getting used to our powers."

"Then I suggest that you accept the help of some outstanding Wizards who know the areas you'll have to go," said Ambrose, "first of all is young Andrew here, who comes highly recommended from his great-grandfather."

"Grandpa Richard has a lot of confidence in me," said Andrew, "but I'm not that special. Sure, I've been all over The Spiral. I've seen and done many things and met a lot of Wizards. I think I can ask a few who can help. But…"

"But of course, you'll have to clear your other obligations," said Ambrose, "young Andrew, leave everything to me."

"Thank you, Headmaster," said Andrew, "I'll do my very best to help The Chosen One and her friends, to the living end."

"I don't expect you to sacrifice yourself for this Quest, young Wizard," said Ambrose, "just do all that you can do, no more, no less, and no more or less from anyone else who will go with you."

"Yeah," said Andrew, "I'll ask if anyone is available. But first I need to clear my schedule." He then closed his eyes in concentration.

"What's he doing?" Jenny asked.

"He's using telepathy," said Valerie, "I think I can hear him talking with his mind. I could be wrong but he's sending out a big message to a lot of people."

"Young Andrew has made a reputation of himself of being able to help his friends whenever they ask for it," said Ambrose, "even when it interrupts his own needs and obligations. He's telling his friends that I am sending him on a high risk Quest and not to bother him with requests for help for the foreseeable future."

Andrew then opened his eyes, "my friends won't be happy that I can't come help when they shout for it, but they'll be okay with it. Now I need to ask if anyone is willing to come on this Quest," he close his eyes again, "If we're going to do this, we're going to need a full party, cause these Boss Monsters, they'll be in Dungeons, and the best way to beat a Dungeon is with four Wizards. Hopefully my friends will come and help us."

"And if they don't come?" Jenny asked, "What then?"

"Then I'll ask someone else on my friend list," said Andrew, "I've been around The Spiral a lot and made friends with a lot of Wizards, most of them I've helped out in a major situation on more than one occasion. If I have to I'll call in some favors, god knows I've got plenty owed to me."

"I'm sure many of your friends will be willing to help you, young Andrew," said Ambrose.

Just then there was a flash of green sparks and there was a girl wizard with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore black and white robes and had a small Satyr pet.

"Van!" said a smiling Andrew, "glad you could make it," he looked at Sabrina and the others, "this is my fellow Theurgist, Vanessa Bearblood."

"How do you do," said Vanessa Bearblood as she shook hands with Sabrina and the others, "Andrew says that this Quest is going to be a big one."

"Biggest one yet," said Andrew, "but let's wait to see if anyone else is coming."

Just then there were two more flashes of sparks; one blue the other purple. Emerging from the blue sparks was another girl wizard, who had brown hair down to her shoulders. She wore light blue robes and had a purple hat and a large cat dressed like it belonged to the mob.

From the purple sparks emerged a boy wizard wearing red robes and a orange hat and had a small purple scaly creature for a pet, a creature that looked aquatic somewhat.

"Kayla! Chris!" said Andrew, he then looked at Sabrina and the others, "This is Kayla Dreamleaf and Chris Firegem."

"You said you were in need of strong wizards, Andrew" said Chris Firegem as he and Kayla Dreamleaf shook hands with Sabrina and the others.

"You couldn't have asked for better friends," said Kayla Dreamleaf, "Especially since two of his friends are friends themselves."

"The four of us have been friends for a long time," said Vanessa Bearblood, "and make a pretty good team."

"We've been through thick and thin, the four of us," said Andrew, "and now it's going to get thicker than ever," he looked at his friends with serious eyes, "Guys…Diabolic is back."

"What?" exclaimed Chris Firegem, "it's been a hundred years already?"

"I don't believe it," said a shocked Kayla Dreamleaf.

"Oh I believe it," said Vanessa Bearblood, "but who's The Chosen One?"

"You're looking at her," said Sabrina, "my friends and I are here to find the talismans and use them to defeat Diabolic."

"Forgive me if I sound rude," said Chris Firegem as he looked at Sabrina, Harvey, Valerie, Jenny and Salem, "but how can you stop Diabolic? He's supposed to be the worst of the worst of villains, and you guys…" he looked directly at Sabrina, "I'm guessing you're a witch, but your friends…aren't they…"

"Yes, we're mortals," said Harvey. He then walked over to Ambrose's desk and picked it up with one hand, "who work out with weights."

"And are highly gifted," said Jenny. She then ran over to Kayla and Vanessa and switched their hands and ran back to Sabrina, all in the blink of an eye.

"And proud of it," said Valerie as she raised the desk out of Harvey's hand with her mind. She made it rotate in midair before settling it back down on the floor.

"Awesome!" said Kayla, "are you guys super heroes?"

"Nah," said Harvey, "we're just borrowing these powers. It would be cool if we could keep them after we're done."

"Can we, Sabrina?" Jenny asked, "Can't you ask your aunts to make another potion that'll let us keep these powers?"

"I honestly don't know," said Sabrina. She then looked at Salem, "is there a potion to make their powers permanent?"

"Not to my knowledge," said Salem, "but on the other hand it would be a bad idea. Mortals with super powers tend to cause more trouble than they solve."

"Your cat talks!" said a widely smiling Kayla, "how cute!"

"I'm not cute," said Salem, "I'm a great warlock who's down on his luck."

"Wait a second," said Chris, "I know you; you're Salem Saberhagen. You tried to take over your world and got caught."

"And sentenced to a hundred years as a cat," said Vanessa.

"But he's still cute," said Kayla, "not as cute as my kitty cat, but still cute," she bent down to scratch her mobster cat behind the ears, "isn't that right, baby?"

The mobster cat responded by purring loudly.

"Show off," muttered Salem.

"Well," said Andrew, "if we're all set, me might as well get started. The first key for the first talisman is in Unicorn Way."

"I think I know where it might be," said Vanessa Bearblood, "the other day I was helping some new wizards get the hang of their spells, and there was a new house at the end of Unicorn Way that wasn't there before. No one could open the door and for the most part very few people actually noticed it."

"Richard said that the talismans would make themselves known when the time was right," said Sabrina, "maybe the keys to unseal the talisman revealed itself at the same time."

"Can you show us where that house is, Van?" Andrew asked.

"Just try and stop me from finding it again," said an eagerly smiling Vanessa.

"Before you leave to find the key," said Headmaster Ambrose, "There is one more matter I wish to discuss with you all. Young Andrew, I advise you and your fellow wizards to keep this Quest to as few people as possible. If word got out that Diabolic was on the move, it could cause a panic across The Spiral that would only lead to chaos and destruction.

"I do not expect you to remain silent to all your friends indefinitely. It is only a matter of time before Diabolic makes himself known. It is also a matter of time before he sends his minions after young Sabrina and her friends."

"Oh, right," said Sabrina, "I forgot, he's kinda mad at me."

"So he's gonna send an army of monsters and evil magic users after us?" Jenny asked.

"I really don't want to meet them," said Valerie.

"Neither do I," said Harvey, "but if they try to hurt Sabrina, they'll have to go through me first."

"And me," said Jenny.

"And me, I guess," said Valerie.

"And us too," said Chris Firegem.

"Even though we've just met," said Vanessa Bearblood, "we're friends."

"And friends always help friends," said Kayla Dreamleaf.

"Then there is nothing more to say," said Headmaster Ambrose, "except good luck."

"Thank you, Headmaster," said Andrew, while Sabrina and the others nodded in agreement. With that the young heroes left the office and emerged backed in The Commons.

"So anyway," said Kayla Dreamleaf to Chris Firegem and Vanessa Bearblood as they all made their way to a large stone tunnel at the far end of The Commons, "have you been to Grizzleheim lately?"

"Have I ever," said an eager Vanessa Bearblood, "Nick Jonas is still there, composing."

"I know," said an eagerly grinning Kayla, "he's so cute."

"Who's Nick Jonas?" Valerie asked.

"Excuse me?" a shocked Kayla asked, "you don't know who Nick Jonas is?"

"He's Nick Jonas for crying out loud!" said Vanessa, "of The Jonas Brothers!"

"Who?" Harvey asked.

"Are you telling me that you don't know who The Jonas Brothers are?" Chris Firegem asked, "They're The Jonas Brothers for god's sakes! They had their own show on Disney Channel. It's crazy that you don't know this."

"You think that's crazy?" Andrew asked, "They don't know anything about Miley Cyrus, let alone Hannah Montana."

"No freaking way," said a shocked Vanessa.

"Could we not talk about what we know and what we don't know for a while?" Sabrina asked, "okay, I get it, my friends and I are from a world that's different from yours. We'll talk about it later, but right now we need to find those keys."

"She's right," said Andrew, "we can debate to our heart's content when we don't have to worry about saving the universe. Come on, Unicorn Way awaits!"

"So what can we expect?" Sabrina asked as they headed for the tunnel to Unicorn Way.

"A cakewalk," said Vanessa.

"Unicorn Way is probably the easiest area in Wizard City," said Vanessa, "just Ghosts, Skeleal Pirates and evil Fairies to deal with for the most part."

"Ghosts?" Harvey asked.

"Pirates?" Valerie asked.

"Fairies?" Jenny asked.

"Just because the creatures walking the street are easy to deal with," said Andrew, "Doesn't mean you should let your guard down. One certain thing about living in The Spiral; anything can happen."

Just as they were about to go through the doorway there was a flash of black sparks. There stood a wizard wearing red and black armor wand wore a dragon-like helmet. Next to him was a small banshee. The wizard gripped his black wand angrily, which matched his irate expression perfectly.

"Duncan?" Andrew asked in a confused tone, "what…"

The irate wizard, Duncan, aimed his wand at Andrew's face, "Prepare for the afterlife, Andrew Greenspear! I'm gonna destroy you!"

"Like I said," said Andrew, "Anything can happen."

To Be continued…


	4. Chapter 4: The First Key

(Sorry for the delay, everyone, i've been really busy with my other fics and other stuff in my life, but here's the new chapter, so enjoy!)

**Chapter 4: The First Key**

"So what can we expect?" Sabrina asked as they headed for the tunnel to Unicorn Way.

"A cakewalk," said Vanessa.

"Unicorn Way is probably the easiest area in Wizard City," said Vanessa, "just Ghosts, Skeletal Pirates and evil Fairies to deal with for the most part."

"Ghosts?" Harvey asked.

"Pirates?" Valerie asked.

"Fairies?" Jenny asked.

"Just because the creatures walking the street are easy to deal with," said Andrew, "Doesn't mean you should let your guard down. One certain thing about living in The Spiral; anything can happen."

Just as they were about to go through the doorway there was a flash of black sparks. There stood a wizard wearing red and black armor wand wore a dragon-like helmet. Next to him was a small banshee. The wizard gripped his black wand angrily, which matched his irate expression perfectly.

"Duncan?" Andrew asked in a confused tone, "what…"

The irate wizard, Duncan, aimed his wand at Andrew's face, "Prepare for the afterlife, Andrew Greenspear! I'm gonna destroy you!"

"Like I said," said Andrew, "Anything can happen." He then walked right up to the irate Wizard, not caring that the wand was pointing right at him, "just what is your problem, Duncan Ghostfist?" he then looked back at Sabrina and the others, "this is another friend of mine."

"I'd hate to meet your enemies," said Harvey.

"I've got a major bone to pick with you, Andrew Greenspear," said the irate wizard, Duncan Ghostfist, "how dare you blow me off like this! You promised to help me with some Quests in Dragonspyre."

"I did?" Andrew asked, "that was supposed to be today?" he looked up in thought, "oh, right. I did promise to help you today. In fact, I did promise a lot of people I'd help them." He looked at Duncan Ghostfist, "but I can't help anyone for a while now. The headmaster has me assigned on a long-term Quest, so I won't be able to go with you, Duncan."

"But you promised!" said Duncan Ghostfist, "you made a promise between friends!"

"I know," said Andrew, "and I'm really sorry, but this Quest is bigger than the one you want to do."

"Really?" Duncan asked as he lowered his wand, "how big?"

"Really big," said Chris as he, Vanessa and Kayla walked up to Duncan, "big enough that the headmaster has our schedules cleared for the foreseeable future as well."

"It's really serious," said Kayla, "but we can't tell you what just yet."

"If this got spread around," said Vanessa, "it could cause a panic."

"Oh, you can trust me," said Duncan, "if it's a secret then I can keep it. Seriously, dude, you can trust me to keep my mouth shut."

"But you just tried to kill Andrew!" said Valerie.

"He wouldn't do that," said Andrew, "even though Duncan is a Master Necromancer…"

"Grandmaster," said Duncan, "I just got promoted yesterday."

"You did?" Andrew asked, "oh man, I was helping some newbie Wizards out in Crab Alley yesterday. Sorry I missed it."

"Well I'm Grandmaster now," said Duncan, "so you can let me in on the secret."

"I would, man," said Andrew, "but this is a top secret Quest. If you want in, ask the headmaster."

"I'll do that," said Duncan, "but that still leaves me one wizard short for Dragonspyre."

"Hang on," said Andrew, "I'll see if someone can go in my place," he closed his eyes as he sent out a telepathic message to his friends.

"So," said Duncan to Sabrina and the others, "what brings you guys here? You're clearly not Wizards."

"We're on a mission to save the universe," said Valerie.

"Aren't we all," said Duncan.

Andrew then opened his eyes, "I've got one confirmed response and two definite maybes."

Just then there was a flash of brown sparks. There stood a boy wizard wearing orange and yellow robes and had a small jade-colored elephant that stood on two legs.

"Valdus Titanbane," said Andrew to the wizard, "thanks for coming."

"You've helped me plenty of times," said Valdus Titanbane, "so what can I do for you, Andrew? I hope it involves Celestia, because I'm going there in a bit."

"I'm afraid not," said Andrew, "the headmaster has me, Kayla, Chris and Vanessa helping some outlanders on a special, super-important Quest, but I promised Duncan I'd go with him to Dragonspyre. I was wondering if you could go with him in my stead."

"But I'm supposed to go to Celestia today," said Valdus, "I'd love to help you out, Andrew, but not for this."

"I knew it was too good to be true," said Duncan in a disgruntled tone.

"Just hang on, Duncan," said Andrew.

"Can we help?" Sabrina asked.

"I've got this," said Andrew. He then looked at Valdus, "remember the time I saved you from that horde of Krok mummies in Krokotopia?"

"Uh…yeah," said Valdus in a sheepish tone, "not one of my finest moments."

"But we vanquished those rotten mummies," said Andrew, "and you'd said you'd repay me someday. Well, I'm calling in that favor. So, will you help out, Duncan?"

Valdus hesitated before answering, "well…alright, I'll do it. But only because I owe you one. After this we're even, ok?"

"Ok," said Andrew as he and Valdus shook hands.

Valdus then looked at Duncan, "meet you in The Basilica."

"Right," said Duncan, "give me a minute to get ready and I'll see you there."

"Now before I go help Duncan," said Valdus to Andrew, "can you tell me what this is all about?" He then looked at Sabrina and the others, "and just who are these guys?"

"You'll have to ask the headmaster that question," said Andrew, "I'd love to tell you, but it's a matter of security for The Spiral."

"Is it that serious?" Valdus asked in a hushed tone.

"Deadly serious," said Vanessa.

"Probably more serious than Malistare Drake," said Chris.

"And that's saying something," said Kayla.

"Alright," said Valdus, "but if I can help in any way, just let me know."

"Same with me," said Duncan, "We won't tell anyone what you're doing, even though we have no idea what you're doing, but we'll let some of the others know to keep their schedules flexible if you need them."

"I'll be sure to let them know if we need help," said Andrew.

"Same with my friends," said Chris, "I've got a few on my list who owe me a few favors."

"Me too," said Vanessa.

"Me three," said Kayla.

"Ok," said Duncan, "see you around, Andrew," he looked at Valdus, "see you in Dragonspyre in a second," with that he vanished in a cloud of sparks.

"Good luck," said Valdus to Andrew and the others and he vanished in a cloud of sparks.

"What is that that you do?" Jenny asked Andrew, "appearing and disappearing like that?"

"It's just Teleporting," said Vanessa, "or Porting as we like to call it."

"Every Wizard can Port," said Chris.

"Wow," said Valerie, "I wish I could do that."

"Why Port when I can just zap us to where we need to go," said Sabrina.

"But unless you know where you're going," said Kayla, "then you could end up lost."

"We can use Mana to mark a location and Port there later," said Chris.

"But it also helps to have a map," said Andrew as he held up a seemingly blank piece of parchment, which shimmered to become a map of The Commons.

"This is another piece of magic that all Wizards share," said Kayla as she, Vanessa and Chris also took out similar rolls of parchment.

"The map changes to whatever area you are in," said Andrew, "so once we go through the tunnel way, we'll see the layout of Unicorn Way. And the map also shows your location in said area."

"Think of it as a GPS device," said Chris as they walked through the tunnel and emerged in a large lawn divided by pathways, a brook and a large stature of a unicorn in the middle.

"This is Unicorn Park," said Andrew, "beyond it is the actual street and all the creatures that go with it."

"Wow, this is a nice place," said Sabrina.

"Nice enough to go on a date," said Harvey, "just the two of us."

"Just remember to bring the tuna," said Salem.

"We're going to leave Salem out of our dates from now on," said Harvey, "aren't we?"

"I hope so," said Sabrina.

"Over there," said Vanessa as she pointed to a doorway flanked by horse statures that held rapiers, "That's The Arena. That's were Wizards can practice Duels, sometimes for fun, but also for cash, prizes and bragging rights."

"We ought to have a practice match before we dive into battle for real," said Andrew, "so that Sabrina and her friends can see just what we Wizards can do."

"That's actually a good idea," said Chris, "Let's show these outlanders how we do things in The Spiral."

They walked towards the Arena and went in. Inside were a few Wizards casting spells against each other. They were all in large circles that had several rings of small symbols and eight large symbols around it. On one edge of the circle were the symbols of a dagger, a key, a gem and a small spiral. On the other side were a sun, an eye, a star and a moon. The middle of the circle had a large spiral spinning outward.

Sabrina and the others saw one Wizard standing at the dagger symbol and another at the sun symbol. They watched as one Wizard cast a spell, then the other cast a spell.

"Even the worst of monsters in The Spiral hare bound by a code of honor for duels," said Chris, "everyone takes turn. Whoever goes first is determined by chance."

"Up to eight people can be in a duel," said Kayla, "but if you join a duel after it's started, you have to wait until everyone who's already in it takes their turn before you can cast a spell."

"Everyone in the duel starts out with one Pip," said Andrew, "but there are wands that allow wizards to start out with two. As the duel progresses, more pips are accumulated, unless they're used for spells."

"Let's get a practice room," said Vanessa, "you'll pick things up easily enough as you watch one up close, and who's gonna Duel who?"

"I'll go!" said Kayla, "I'm ready to kick someone's butt."

"The only one who's getting their ass kicked," said Chris as he smiled eagerly, "is you, Kayla!"

They found an empty room where a circle waited for them, "those are called Duel Circles," said Andrew as Kayla stepped onto the dagger symbol and Chris stepped onto a dagger symbol.

"This time we'll flip a coin," said Chris as he took out a Crown, "call it!" he flipped the coin and caught it.

"Tails," said Kayla.

"Heads!" said Chris as he looked at the coin. "Alright, let's do this!"

Both Wizards then faced each other with their wands out, while a single whit eball of light appeared in front of them, "those lights are pips," said Andrew, "if you see a gold light, that's a Power Pip, which can equal two regular Pips for the primary school of the wizard.

Chris then traced a large purple lightning bolt with his wand. The symbol flashed brightly, and there in the circle appeared out of a bolt of lightning a large blue and yellow snake that looked to be a cross between a cobra and a rattlesnake. The Thunder Snake then zapped Kayla with its tail, delivering a mild but damaging electrical shock.

"Oh, that's got to hurt!" said Harvey.

"Not really," said Vanessa, "remember, this is just a pratice duel. Real battles do hurt, but not as much as you'd think."

Kayla was clearly unhurt, for she smiled as she traced a blue snowflake symbol in the air. From out of nowhere, a beetle made of living ice appeared into the circle and tackled onto Chris, freezing him slightly. He shook his head and recovered from the attack.

"Those are the first level attack spells for their respective schools," said Andrew, "but Dueling is more than just blasting each other."

"Although we can do that," said Chris. He then raised his wand and zapped Kayla with a bolt of lightning. She then responded by blasting Chris with a fireball.

They both now had two pips at their feat. "Now things are going to get interesting," said Vanessa.

Chris cast a spell that created a small shield around Kayla's feet that circled around her. The shield had a black storm cloud with a purple and yellow lightning bolt and purple spikes around the edges of the shield.

"That's a trap," said Vanessa, "it lowers an enemies' defenses. If you see a spikeless shield around the caster's feet, that's a Shield that increases defense. Round shields with swords that orbit around a wizards' head increases attack, while round shields with X's on them reduce attack power."

Sabrina, Harvey, Jenny, Valerie and Salem watched with fascinated eyes as Chris and Kayla spent the next few minutes taking turns building up their own offenses and defenses, while reducing the attack and defense of each other.

Chris then used a large spell that summoned a huge purple Kraken that reared up to throw a yellow lightning bolt at Kayla. One of the round shields around his head vanished, while one of the Trap shields and defense Shield around Kayla also vanished. The Kraken threw it's lightning bolt at Kayla, shocking her enough to knock her back.

But Kayla recovered and cast a spell that summoned a huge serpentine creature that was made out of ice. Kayla's offensive shields activated, while Chris's defenses also activated, then the Ice Wyvern blasted him with it's frozen breath, knocking him back.

"Wow," said an impressed Sabrina, "they don't have magic like this back home."

"I'm sure," said Andrew, "if you'll notice the small circles around Kayla and Chris, that line of light, that represents how much Health they have left. When you run out of Health, you lose."

"Unless you heal yourself," said Kayla. She then traced the green leaf symbol of the Life school, and there in the middle of the circle appeared a small fairy that flew around Kayla and created a bright green aura that restored part of the Health circle around her.

"All wizards can use healing spells," said Vanessa, "they just have to learn them.

A few turns later Kayla summoned a huge creature, like a living statue of a sword wielding warrior, made of ice. The Colossus then swung its sword at Chris, blasting him off his feet. But he still had a sliver of Health left.

"Alright, Kayla," said a grinning Chris, "now it's my turn to turn up the heat!" he then traced a red symbol that looked like flames, and a phoenix made of living fire burst onto the Dueling circle. It then blasted Kayla, knocking her off her feet. Her Health circle was completely drained.

"And that's that," said Chris as he walked over and helped Kayla up.

"Not bad," said a smiling Kayla, "not bad at all. But next time I'm so gonna kick your butt."

"Anything else you want to see about Dueling?" Andrew asked Sabrina and the others.

"I think we've seen enough o get the basics," said Harvey.

"We'll pick up the rest as we go along," said Jenny.

"We're ready to get that key," said Sabrina.

"Alright," said Andrew, "then let's get going."

They all left the Arena and went past the unicorn statue in the park, past a gazebo, and found themselves in a street lined with stone houses. Here and there were Wizards running up and down the sidewalks, while the street was full of ghostly creatures, like transparent white hooded robes that were devoid of anything else, gliding in the air through the street.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Valerie, "Ghosts!"

"They're just Lost Souls," said Vanessa, "these things are pushovers compared to what's elsewhere."

"They're more annoying than dangerous," said Chris, "so it's best to stay on the sidewalk. For some reason, all the monsters and enemies in The Spiral avoid you if you walk on the sidewalk."

"And if you can sneak around them," said Kayla, "you won't get pulled into a battle."

"Good to know," said Sabrina.

"Just how big is this street?" Jenny asked as they turned a corner, careful to stay on the sidewalk and avoid the Lost Soul.s as they mournfully glided through the street.

"Not as big as most areas in The Spiral," said Vanessa, "but yes, it's gonna take us a while to get to where I saw that new house."

"You'll find that investing in well made shoes will pay off big time when traveling in The Spiral," said Chris.

"Don't you have cars here?" Harvey asked, "or at least bicycles?"

"You know," said Andrew in a thoughtful manner, "I've been traveling The Spiral for a while now, and not once have I ever seen a car or a bike. I'm not complaining about the lack of cars, things are a lot quieter and the air is so clean. Bikes would be nice though. But we have other, more faster means of getting around The Spiral."

"We'd show you what we're talking about," said Vanessa, 'but if we showed you our Mounts, we'd leave you in the dust."

"That reminds me," said Kayla, "on the way back from getting this key, we'll have to stop at Prospector Zeke. He'll have what Sabrina and the others need to get around."

"Can't you at least tell us?" Valerie asked as they turned another corner and found that the streets had instead of ghost, skeletons wearing bandanas and waving cutlasses about, "and what are those horrible things?"

"Skeletal Pirates," said Chris, "They're only trouble for Novice Wizards, but it's best to avoid unnecessary battles."

"Oh," said Valerie, "and here's another thing that's sure to give me nightmares later on."

"You think this is scary?" Chris asked, "you ain't seen nothing yet."

They turned another corner and now the streets were full of fairies with pale skin and red wings, wearing purple clothes.

"Dark Fairies," said Andrew, "again, best to avoid them unless you really want to fight them."

"Fighting stronger monsters give more experience," said Kayla, "And even more experience is received the longer the battle goes."

"I'm gonna need to write this down," said Jenny.

"Not me," said Salem, "I've got it all memorized, down to the last gritty detail."

"Well, aren't you special," said Kayla.

"Why are there so many creepy monsters about?" Sabrina asked.

"Things are gonna get worse, believe me," said Andrew, "but as for why all the creatures that are affiliated with the undead is due to the recklessness of Malistare Drake. He caused all sorts of chaos throughout The Spiral, all because he wanted to resurrect his wife."

"He stole a very powerful book of magic," said Vanessa, "The Krokonomicon, and took it to Dragonspyre, where he hoped to harness the power of the Dragon Titan, a monster of a dragon who turned Dragonspyre from a world of advanced magic and warrior arts to a volcanic ruin populated buy Draconians and ghosts of slain Wizards and warriors."

"If Malistare had gotten his way and brought his wife back to life," said Chris, "he would have created unparallel chaos across time and space. Fortunately a brave band of Wizards chased after Malistare and confronted him before he could unleash hell on the worlds."

"That's good to know," said Jenny, "at least we won't have to fight that guy."

"Instead there's an immoral warlock out to kill me and cover everything in darkness," said Sabrina, "no pressure."

"Worry about Diabolic later," said Vanessa as they stopped by a large stone house near the end of the street, "we're here."

"You sure this is it?" Kayla asked.

"I don't remember this house being here before," said Andrew, "then again, it has been a while since I was in Unicorn Way, so it might just be it."

"This is it alright," said Vanessa.

Harvey tried opening the door, but it was locked. He then tried to force the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Whatever's in there must be worth keeping locked up," said Jenny.

"Anyone know a good lock picking spell?" Kayla asked.

"Let me at it," said Salem, "I'll get that door open faster than you can name all the members of The Rat Pack." He lept down from Sabrina's arms and jumped at the doorknob, but he couldn't grab hold of it and kept falling to the floor. He kept trying to reach it, but his feline paws just wouldn't stay on the doorknob.

"And yet another reason why I miss having thumbs," said Salem. He looked up at Sabrina with pleading eyes, "could you pick me up, please?"

"Of course," said Sabrina as she picked Salem up.

"This is so embarrassing," muttered Salem. He then extended one claw from his left paw, "alright, give me a minute," he then tried to pick the lock with his claw, but then there was a small crack and Salem yelped in pain.

"What happened?" Sabrina asked.

"I broke a nail," pouted Salem.

"I got it," said Vanessa as she cast a healing spell on Salem's paw. Within seconds it was good as new.

"That's that," said Jenny, "but how do we get that door open?"

"Maybe there's a hidden switch somewhere," said Sabrina. She touched the doorknob, and suddenly there was a loud click and the door opened.

"What the…!" exclaimed Chris.

"Now we know for sure that Sabrina is the Chosen One," said Andrew, "if the key is in the house, then Sabrina is probably the only one who can lead us to it."

"Well," said Sabrina, "let's go get it." With that they all went into the house.

* * *

><p>Somewhere in the deepest, darkest reaches of the other realm, Diabolic sat in a dimly lit chamber on a throne of pure obsidian, glaring at a large crystal ball in front of him that showed Sabrina and her friends entering the house where the key was.<p>

Suddenly, Diabolic stood up, "Come to me, my ministers of darkness!" he shouted.

There were six flashes of dark magic and there stood four warlocks and two witches. The first warlock had short black hair and wore a dark purple military-style robe. The second warlock was bald and wore a sickly yellow military robe. The third warlock had long pale blue hair and wore glasses with matching blue military robes and the fourth warlock had dark indigo hair and wore red military robes. The first witch had long dark orange hair and wore green ilitary robes that was cut short to reveal her highly sensual figure. The second witch had shoulder length brown hair and wore glasses wearing brown robes in a more conservative style.

They all had one common feature; all of them had pitch black eyes.

"My dear friends," said Diabolic as he smiled viciously, "it has come to pass that Sabrina Spellman is indeed the Chosen One."

The warlock in yellow stepped forward, "Master Diabolic," he said, "send me to destroy the waif. I shall deliver her head to you on a silver platter."

"Tempting as the offer is, Revion Nightshade," said Diabolic, "the time for Sabrina's death is not at hand. She must posses all five talismans before the spell that will allow my ultimate triumph can be initiated. Then and only then can she be killed.

"But that doesn't mean that she should be allowed to go about her business unchallenged," he looked at the six dark magic users before him, "my friends, as each of you go out through the many lands of The Other Realm, I will ask one of you, perhaps more, to go to The Spiral to make things more interesting for the Chosen One."

He looked at the dark magic users one by one, first at the yellow robed warlock, "Revion Nightshade," the warlock in dark purple, "Talivik Bloodblade," the warlock in pale blue, "Jasvior Wraithclaw," the warlock in red, "Wyvern Darkstar," the witch in green, "Bevion Soulstalker," and the witch in brown, "and Halivorn Mindcrusher.

"Each of you possess equally powerful forms of magic and equally powerful styles of villainy. Therefore, I will choose by lottery who shall go to The Spiral and torment Sabrina, while causing as much physical and mental suffering for her friends, but don't kill them just yet. I want them to experience suffering the likes of which that will make them eager to accept hell."

He looked at the six villains and finally set his evil eyes on the warlock in red, "Jasvior, will you do me the honor of making things a living hell for Sabrina and her friends?"

"It will be my honor and pleasure, Master Diabolic," said Jasvior Wraithclaw as he bowed, "I guarantee that they will be driven to insanity and back."

"Then get to it," said Diabolic, "for the glory of the darkness!"

"For the glory of the darkness!" said Jasvior Wraithclaw. He then zapped himself out of the room.

"The rest of you," said Diabolic, "you have your assignments. Carry them out, for the glory of the darkness!"

"For the glory of the darkness!" said the five dark magic users. They then zapped themselves out of the room.

"Now," said Diabolic as he walked back to his throne and sat down, glaring at the crystal that showed Sabrina and her friends, "the game truly begins. I've made my move, Sabrina. Let's see what you'll do next."

* * *

><p>The inside of the house had wooden walls and floors and ornately, but the floor space was bare, except for four creatures. The first was a larger version of a Skeletal Pirate that was armed with two cutlasses. The second creature was a Cyclopes armed with a large metal war hammer. The third was a banshee-like creature and the fourth was a snowman that looked to be made of lava.<p>

"The Chosen One," said the doubly armed Skeletal Pirate as it looked at Sabrina, "at lass, thee hath come. I am Captain Blackheart, guardian of the first key. If thee wishes to possess the key, thee and they companions must defeat me and mine comrades in combat."

"He wants us to duel him," said Andrew, "alright," he smiled eagerly as he cracked his knuckles, "this won't take too long."

"This seems like a strong Boss battle," said Chris, "ought to be worth a lot of experience."

"And let's not forget the prizes that go with it," said Kayla.

Sabrina then noticed the ornately carved stone chest that was behind Blackheart, "is that where the key is?"

"Nay, lass," said Blackheart, "only by defeating me with the key be delivered to thine hands."

"That chest is a prize chest," said Vanessa, "put Crowns in it and you get something really cool."

"And the sooner we win," said Chris, "The sooner it'll be Treasure Time!" With that the four Wizards started towards Blackheart.

"Nay!" shouted Blackheart, "stay thy magics, wizards. At least one of thee must remain out of combat. For to obtain the key, the Chosen lass must partake this Duel."

"You want me to fight you?" Sabrina asked, "but I'm not a wizard. I don't have any spell cards."

'But you do have your witches license," said Salem, "and that allows yout o use magic that you normally wouldn't use."

"And you were gonna tell me this when?" Sabrina asked.

"Well," said Salem, "I figured on waiting for when the time was right."

"Well the time is now," said Sabrina, "so what kind of special magic can I use now?"

"Basically it's like Wizard magic," said Salem, "you can blast enemies with fireballs, freeze rays and thunderbolts."

"Like wand magic," said Kayla.

"But who's gonna stay out?" Vanessa asked, "I could do it. I mean, with Andrew there's already a Theurgist in the duel."

"We'll give them an extra kick in the pants for you," said Chris.

"You sure you want to do this?" Harvey asked Sabrina.

"We can't get the key if I don't fight," said Sabrina, "I have to do it."

"Be careful," said Valerie, "I really don't want to have to go looking for a new best friend, or looking up old best friends either."

"Same with me," said Jenny, "We just started this crazy Quest, so be careful."

"I will," said Sabrina, "Salem will be with me," she then picked him up.

"I will?" Salem asked.

"Of course," said Sabrina, "how else am I supposed to use the emergency magic if I don't know how? It's not something I learned from my Quiz Master."

"Can we begin this decade?" Blackheart asked.

"We might as well get started," said Andrew.

"Then let's do it," said Sabrina. With that she, Andrew, Kayla and Chris walked towards the middle of the room. A dueling circle appeared and Sabrina found herself standing at the star symbol, with Andrew at the sun, Kayla at the eye and Chris at the moon.

Blackheart was at the dagger, the Cyclopes was at the key, the Scarlet Screamer at the gem and the Magma Man at the spiral.

"I've got the first move!" said Andrew. He traced the Life symbol and a Life Trap appeared around Blackheart.

"My move!" said Kayla eagerly as she set an Ice Trap around the Magma Man.

"What do I do, Salem?" Sabrina asked as her turn came up.

"The emergency spells grant you the power of Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Lightning," said Salem, "just put me down, focus on whatever element you want to use, point at the target and say the element."

"Alright," said Sabrina. She pointed at the Scarlet Screamer, "Fire!" a fireball erupted from her fingertip and blasted the Scarlet Screamer, significantly reducing the Health Circle of the creature by about a quarter.

"Wow!" said an impressed Andrew, "you nailed that dead head!"

"I…I guess I don't know my own strength," said Sabrina as she looked at her hands, "wow."

"I always knew you were special!" shouted Harvey.

"Just how special," said Jenny, "I don't think anyone could know."

"Remind me to never make you mad, Sabrina," said Jenny.

"I'll say," said Chris as he set a Storm Trap around the Cyclopse.

"Now be it my turn!" said Blackheart as he summoned a Trap around Andrew, Kayla, Sabrina and Chris. The Traps had a spiral mark on them.

"These Traps work with whatever School is used for an attack," said Vanessa, "they reduce your defenses by 20%. Be careful!"

The Cyclops then summoned a Myth Blade around its head, while the Scarlet Screamer summoned a Death Blade and the Magma Man summoned a Fire Blade.

The next turn came and Sabrina noticed that the new pip around her was gold, a Power Pip. The same could be said for Andrew. "Now we're cooking with gas!" he said as he traced the Life Symbol.

Shooting out of the middle of the circle was a large tree that could walk and fight, "Nature's Wrath!" said Andrew, "get that dead head, Twiggy!"

The tree creature picked up a boulder that had appeared with it and threw it at the Scarlet Screamer. The Life Trap activated and the undead creature took a lot of damage.

"My move!" said Kayla as she summoned a snake made of ice that spat icicles at the Magma Man, activating the Ice trap and delivering a lot of damage.

Sabrina then blasted the Cyclops with a bolt of lightning, activating the Storm Trap that Chris set and seriously damaging the one eyed creature.

"I was gonna do that," said Chris, "you wasted my Trap."

"You're gonna have to learn how to coordinate Traps and Shields with others," said Kayla to Sabrina.

"Oh, right, sorry," said Sabrina.

"At least this move will finish it off," said Chris as he traced the Storm symbol and summoned, out of a sudden storm cloud, a trio of purple and yellow bats that crackled with lightning. They flew around the Cyclops, delivering enough damage to eliminate its Health circle. The Cyclops dropped its hammer as it clutched its belly and gasped in pain, before falling down and disappearing.

"One baddie bites the dust," said Andrew.

"Not bad," said Blackheart as he summoned more Traps around the Sabrina and the Wizards, "not bad at all."

The scarlet Screamer then attacked Andrew, appearing in the middle of the circle and unleashing a near deafening scream that almost knocked him down and delivering a small but significant amount of damage to his Health.

"Talk about lung capacity," said Andrew as he brushed himself off.

"Why is he spouting puns?" Jenny asked as the Magma summoned a Fire Trap around Sabrina, "I thought Andrew was so serious."

"He always does that in a battle," said Vanessa, "it's his way. You'll hear him tell a joke just about every time it's his turn."

"Which is now," said Andrew, "alright, time to raise the stakes!" he then cast a spell that cause the entire circle to be bathed in light that came from green sparks that came from about a foot beyond the edge of the circle.

"This is a Field Spell," said Kayla as she summoned an Ice Blade around her head, "which raises the power of whatever school it belongs to. In this case all Life spells get a 30% boost," she looked at Andrew, "which doesn't really help the rest of us that much."

"Hey, you snooze you lose," said Andrew as he shrugged his shoulders.

"And I thought I told bad jokes," said Salem. All of a sudden his tail began to wave back and forth, tracing the Life symbol in the air above him, "wait…what the heck is going on here!" all of a sudden a green Shield with the picture of a yellow helmet on it appeared around Sabrina.

"That's an Absorb Shield!" said a shocked but still smiling Kayla, "it can block up to 400 damage points!"

"Looks like you've got magic again," said Sabrina as she blasted the Magma Man with a stream of ice cold water, activating one of Kayla's Ice Traps and damaging it harshly, but not enough to destroy it.

"I honestly didn't know I had it in me," said Salem. He then sat down with a dignified expression on his furry face, "but then, I am an experienced warlock, just in a smaller, more agile body, with fabulous fur to boot."

"But you're still short," said Chris as he summoned a Storm Blade around his head.

Blackheart then summoned more defense reducing Traps around Sabrina and the others.

"Is that all you're going to do?" Sabrina asked as the Scarlet Screamer summoned another Trap around her, "cause if you're just gonna fool around like this, you should just give me the key."

"Feel cocky all thee wants, lass," said Blackheart, "for soon thee and thy friends shall taste my revenge."

"He's not joking around," said Chris, "he's working on a plan.

Just then the Magma Man summoned a small elf wearing red and yellow. The elf jumped around the circle for a bit before shooting a flaming arrow at Sabrina. It burned her a bit, but then she saw an orange diamond pattern orbiting around her feet.

"That's a Damage counter that'll hurt you for the next three turns," said Kayla.

"Multi-turn damagers aren't a laughing matter," said Andrew, "one can seriously hurt you, and several at once can cause you to lose the duel before you know it." He then grinned widely, "fortunately you've got me to back you up!" he traced the Life Symbol, "Triage! Feel the Heal!"

The Damage counter around Sabrina then vanished. "You ought to be a doctor," said a smiling Sabrina.

"I could have been back on Earth," said Andrew, "but I'm not; choices made, you know."

"Let's just take out the rest of the minions," said Kayla, "then we can focus on old bonehead there!" she traced the Icy symbol and summoned an Ice Wyvern that blasted the Magma into oblivion.

"I couldn't agree more," said Sabrina as she pointed at the Scarlet Screamer and a huge boulder fell out of the air onto it.

Chris then blasted the Scarlet Screamer with a bolt of lightning, destroying the last of its Health. The banshee creature then screamed in rage as it vanished.

"Looks like it is down to these old bones to carry on the fight," said Blackheart, "so be it!" it then traced the Death symbol in the air with his swords, summoning a large scarecrow with a pumpkin that had fire in its eyes and a raven on it's shoulders.

"A Harvest Lord!" said a shocked Vanessa, "look out! It can drain Health from all of you!"

"We know!" said Kayla, just as the Harvest Lord attacked. All the Damage Traps activated around Sabrina and the others. The scarecrow creature then sucked a huge amount of health from the duelists, then sent half of it into Blackheart.

"That hurt!" said Sabrina, "that really hurt!"

"What'd you expect?" Chris asked, "a slap on the wrist?"

"We're not out of the game yet!" said Andrew, "time to share the love!" he then summoned a unicorn that Healed each of the duelists in turn.

"Wow," said Sabrina, "that was awesome."

"Not as awesome as this," said Kayla. She then summoned an elf that was dressed in blue and white. It then shot Blackheart with a frozen arrow, creating a blue Damage counter around the sword wielding skeleton.

Sabrina then blasted Blackheart with another fireball, then Chris summoned a large purple shark that bit Blackheart. All these attacks damaged the undead pirate, but he still had more than half of his Health circle.

"We've got to end it before he pulls another fast one," said Kayla.

"Too late, fair lass!" shouted Blackheart, "for ye hath failed to notice thy doom looming at my bare feet!"

Sabrina and the others then realized to their shock that there were several power pips around Blackheart. He then summoned another Harvest Lord that nearly drained all the health from Sabrina and the others, while boosting his own Health at the same time.

"This fray is mine!" said Blackheart.

"Not yet, bone head!" said Andrew, "you're out of pips. It's gonna take you a while before you can attack again, and then you can only take us out one at a time. By then we'll have figured out to break you apart!"

"Any ideas how to do that?" Salem asked.

"As a matter of fact I do," said Andrew as he summoned a Life Blade around his head, "I have one card that can end this battle, but I need two more turns to get the pips I need."

"I have no attack cards right now," said Kayla, "only defense cards," she then cast a spell that created a blue Shield around her that had a spiral on it, "this will reduce the next attack by half, but it won't matter we get hit by another draining spell."

"What about this Absorb thing around me?" Sabrina asked, "it didn't help much."

"It doesn't work against draining spells," said Andrew, "I guess I should have mentioned that."

"Don't give up, Sabrina!" said Jenny, "we believe in you and the others!"

"It's not over till it's over!" said Vanessa.

"I'd help you if I could, Sabrina," said Harvey, "but I don't think it's allowed."

"I wish you could help me too, Harvey," said Sabrina.

Just then Harvey vanished, then appeared in the circle in front of Sabrina. "What the heck?" he asked as he realized what happened.

"How'd you get in here?" Sabrina asked, "I didn't zap you in."

"But you did use a spell," said Vanessa, "Sabrina, I think you summoned Harvey to fight for you this turn."

"I didn't feel anything," said Harvey, "but, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth."

"Trust me, it's not a good idea to do that," said Salem.

Harvey then rushed at Blackheart and punched the skeleton in the head, knocking him back several feet. Harvey then vanished from the circle, only to reappear next to Jenny and Valerie, "That was weird," he said.

Blackheart got back up but all his Defense Shields and offensive Blades vanished, while a white shield appeared in front of him.

"That's a stun shield!" said Chris, "he can't attack next turn!"

"And one more attack and bonehead is finished!" said Andrew as a power pip appeared in front of him, "and now it's my turn!" he then summoned a white-winged angel with long blond hair and armed with a sword. Andrew's Life Blade then activated as The Seraph raised her sword and blasted Blackheart with green light. The creature's Health circle was completely gone and he collapsed into a pile of bones.

"And that's game!" said Andrew as the dueling circle vanished.

"Treasure time!" shouted Kayla as she, Chris and Andrew ran for the chest at the far end of the room.

Just then a gold key about 4in in length appeared in Sabrina's hands, "well, that's one. Only six more to go."

"That was incredible," said Valerie, "you were all blasting those monsters. And then you got attacked, but you shrugged it off. Then you brought Harvey in and he socked it to that pirate thing. That was so awesome! Summon me next time, will you?"

"I wouldn't mind trying my powers against a monster," said Jenny.

"I wouldn't mind going again," said Harvey.

"And of course, Salem played his part as well," said Vanessa, "if he can summon Absorb shields, then who knows what other abilites he has?"

"We won't know unless he gets trained," said Andrew as he, Chris and Kayla put some Crowns into the treasure chest, which then spat out various items that they pocketed.

"Where does all that stuff go?" Harvey asked.

"We have magical backpacks that can hold a lot of loot," said Chris, "mostly items we win in battle and from treasure chests."

"Which reminds me," said Kayla as she looked at the hat that appeared from the chest for her, "hmm, not bad, but I'll have to get it dyed before I can wear it," she pocketed the hat, "anyway, Sabrina, I think you and your friends are in need of a makeover."

"Excuse me?" Harvey asked.

"Not a slumber party makeover," said Kayla as she giggled, "I mean, if you're going to be in The Spiral, you'll have to dress for the occasion."

"Those Earth clothes will make you stand out like sore thumbs," said Andrew, "and since this is supposed to be a top secret Quest, we're going to have to get you guys wardrobes."

"And there's only one place where you can get what you want in Wizard City," said Vanessa, "the Market Place. It's on the way to the Three Streets, so we'll do some shopping before we get there.

Just then there was a loud explosion from outside. "Now what?" Valerie asked.

They all ran out of the house and saw the street in chaos. Wizards were running everywhere in a panic as first one house, then another, exploded.

"Look!" shouted Chris as he pointed at something across the street. There walking up to a house was a small black creature, round in body and walking on two short yellow feet and had white eyes. On it's back was a clockwork key turning slowly. Atop the round black creature was a lit fuse.

"That can't be what I think it is," said a shocked Harvey, "Can it?"

"It's a bob-omb!" said an equally shocked Andrew, "I've played the Super Mario Bros games enough to recognize one when I see one! But what's it doing in The Spiral?"

The bob-omb stopped outside the house and exploded, destroying the house and showering the street with stone fragments.

Andrew raised his staff and summoned a huge Absorb Shield that protected him, Kayla, Vanessa, Chris, Sabrina, Harvey, Jenny, Valerie and Salem from the deadly fallout.

"Apparently trying to kill us," said Salem.

"This is horrible," said Kayla, "who would do such a horrible thing?"

"Someone with a sick imagination," said Chris.

"It's a bout to get worse," said a horrified Valerie as she looked down.

Sabrina then looked down to see a bob-omb waddling up to her, with the fuse only seconds away from setting the explosive creature off.

To be continued…


End file.
